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Regulation #4: All humans are required to donate a pint of blood to their local blood bank every two months from the age of 16 to the age of 65. Humans may be exempted from required blood donation if they fail to reach benchmark health qualifications. Upon failure of a health examination, they will be re-examined every subsequent year; if health qualifications are met at any point, they will be required to donate blood.
第四条规定：所有人类都必须从 16 岁到 65 岁，每两个月向当地血站献血一品脱。如果人类未能达到基准健康要求，可以免于强制献血。如果健康检查不合格，他们将在随后的每一年重新接受检查；如果在任何时候达到健康要求，他们将被要求献血。

~

Seonghwa placed a hand over his brow to shade his eyes from the sun as he opened the rusted door of his beat-up sedan, wincing as he stepped out of the car and stood up straight, his aching muscles protesting the stretch. His body was used to facing conditions that were far from ideal, but after sleeping night after night in his car, he couldn’t avoid the stiffness in his joints. Stretching his hands over his head, his spine cracked in a few different places, and he groaned. 
成华抬手遮住额头，挡住刺眼的阳光。他打开那辆破旧轿车锈迹斑斑的车门，龇牙咧嘴地走出来，站直身体，酸痛的肌肉抗议着这一伸展。他的身体早就习惯了各种恶劣的环境，但日复一日地睡在车里，关节僵硬的问题还是无法避免。他双手高举过头顶，脊椎发出几声脆响，忍不住呻吟了一声。

All in all, he had probably slept for a grand total of about three hours, constantly waking up thanks to a combination of his own discomfort and the noise carrying through the city outside of his car windows. At least in his old apartment he had been able to sleep in a bed, even though his roommates had made noise through the night. 
算下来，他大概总共睡了不到三个小时，总是醒，一部分是因为自己不舒服，另一部分是因为车窗外城市里的噪音太大了。 至少在之前的公寓里，他还能在床上睡觉，虽然室友们整晚吵吵闹闹的。

He closed his car door and locked all of his belongings inside, carrying nothing on his person other than his ID and the small wad of bills in the pocket of his worn jeans, the only money he had left. A small hole had formed in the denim of his jeans over his kneecap after he had fainted on the side of the road a few days before, and he hoped it wouldn’t grow any larger, because the air was already starting to chill after sundown. 
他关上车门，锁好所有家当，身上只带着身份证和那点可怜巴巴的钞票，那是他最后的家底，都揣在磨得发白的牛仔裤口袋里。几天前，他晕倒在路边，牛仔裤膝盖上磨破了一个小洞，他真希望这洞别再变大了，毕竟太阳下山后，空气已经开始变得凉飕飕的了。

The sun had yet to reach its peak in the sky, telling him that it was still morning, and he started to make his way along the sidewalk, keeping close to the walls of the buildings on his right as other hurried pedestrians passed by him on the left. All Seonghwa had eaten in the last three days was a granola bar and a fun sized piece of candy, and his head swam dangerously as he ambled his way towards the bus stop a few blocks away. 
太阳还没爬到正中央，提醒着他现在还是早上。星化沿着人行道慢慢走着，尽量靠着右侧的楼墙，左边则是匆匆赶路的行人。过去三天里，星化只吃了一根燕麦棒和一小块糖，他摇摇晃晃地走向几个街区外的公交车站，饿得头昏眼花。

Other people gave him odd looks along the way, ranging from concerned to disgusted, but Seonghwa paid them no mind. He was used to such stares, after all; kindness was not as innate in the human species as people often wanted to believe. Or, at least, he had rarely ever been on the receiving end of it. 
一路上，别人都用奇怪的眼神看着他，有的是担忧，有的是厌恶。星化对此视若无睹。毕竟，他早就习惯了这样的目光；人这种生物，天性里并没有人们想象的那么多善良。或者说，至少他很少能感受到别人的善意。

The bus was pulling away just as Seonghwa arrived at the stop, which was what he wanted. Now the bench was clear, and he sat on it, closing his eyes for a moment until he managed to ground his consciousness enough to avoid another fainting episode. Blinking a few times, he then turned to face the back wall of the bus shelter, scanning over the papers pinned to the bulletin there.
正当星化赶到车站时，公交车正好启动离开，这正是他想要的。现在长椅空了出来，他坐了上去，闭上眼睛缓了缓，好让自己能稍微清醒一点，免得又晕过去。他眨了几下眼，然后转过身，面向候车亭后面的墙壁，扫视着钉在公告栏上的各种纸张。

Every day, he came down here to look for any kind of housing vacancy that he could afford with his measly savings, but he never found anything. Today was the same as any other day, and he deflated in defeat, running his hands over his face. He just wanted to find a place to live outside of his car, where he could actually take a shower, and sleep in a bed, but so far that had proven to be an impossible task. 
每天，他都来这里，希望能找到他那点可怜的积蓄能负担得起的房子，但总是徒劳无功。今天也和往常一样，他泄了气，沮丧地用手捂住脸。他只是想找一个可以住在车以外的地方，能好好洗个澡，睡在床上，但到目前为止，这似乎是个不可能完成的任务。

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a place to live, and no job wanted to hire him when he walked in with his clothing stained and torn and couldn’t provide a home address. He had no means of income, and no way to rectify that either. Although he had hated the orphanage, sometimes when he sobbed into his hands while curled up in the backseat of his car, he wished he could go back there. At least they had given him food and a roof over his head. 
他使出了浑身解数，却还是找不到落脚的地方，身上衣服又脏又破，也提供不了住址，没有一家公司愿意雇用他。他身无分文，也看不到任何扭转局面的希望。虽然他曾经无比厌恶孤儿院，但有时蜷缩在汽车后座，双手捂面，泣不成声的时候，他真希望自己能回到那里。至少在那里，他还能有口饭吃，有个遮风挡雨的地方。

Forcing himself to inhale a deep breath, Seonghwa looked at the bulletin again, with the naive hope that maybe something would suddenly appear that hadn’t been there before. However, that was not the case, and depression began to sink further into his skin until his eyes caught on another paper tacked to the cork. A paper that he had noticed and subsequently ignored every single day when he came to sit on this bench and browse for any new postings. 
盛 breath，星化强迫自己深深吸了一口气，再次看向公告栏，天真地希望也许会突然冒出什么之前没有的东西。然而，事实并非如此，沮丧开始更深地渗入他的皮肤，直到他的目光落在了钉在软木上的另一张纸上。一张他每天来坐在长椅上浏览新帖子时都会注意到，但随后又忽略的纸。

FEEDERS WANTED  急需供血者！

Apply to be a feeder today and receive an immediate bonus in the form of an electronic check at the time of your assignment. All interested parties must fill out an application before making an appointment at their local blood bank for a health and eligibility check as well as a discussion of terms. 
今天就申请成为供血者，任务一经分配，立即获得电子支票形式的奖励。所有感兴趣的人士必须先填写申请表，然后在当地血库预约，进行健康和资格检查，并讨论具体条款。

Benefits include: monthly compensation checks, lodging, and further measures to be negotiated upon the installation of a contract. 
福利包括：每月补偿支票、住宿，以及合同签订后可进一步商议的其他措施。

Call us today or visit your local blood bank for more details.
今天就致电我们或访问当地血库了解更多详情。

Feeders. Seonghwa had never personally had anything against them, but the way they were viewed by most people was no secret. They willingly submitted themselves to become something less than human, a mere blood bag for vampires to use as they pleased. The thought alone sent a chill down his spine, although he couldn’t stop himself from reading over the flyer again, swallowing forcefully. 
献血者。成华自己倒没觉得他们有什么不好，但大多数人对他们的看法，那可是心知肚明。他们自愿把自己变成非人的存在，仅仅是个血袋，任由吸血鬼予取予求。光是想想，就让他脊背发凉，但他还是忍不住再次浏览传单，狠狠地咽了口唾沫。

Would it really be such a bad idea? Monthly checks and free lodging, the two important aspects of a healthy life where he was currently failing miserably. The thought of sleeping in a bed was enticing, even if that bed was located within a coven house, deep in one of the four thick patches of forest spaced throughout the city. 
真的有那么糟糕吗？月月有钱拿，还管吃管住，这两样可都是现在他惨淡生活中最重要的保障啊。想到能睡在床上，就忍不住心动，哪怕那张床是在某个吸血鬼聚居地里，藏在城市周围四片茂密森林的深处。

Even if vampires mulled about in the night while he slept, able to feed on him whenever they wanted. 
就算晚上睡觉的时候，吸血鬼就在周围游荡，想什么时候吸他的血，就什么时候吸……

Tearing his eyes away from the flyer, Seonghwa released a breath, threading his hands through his hair and tugging at the strands. He was desperate, and at this point, his body was going to shut down and he was going to die before he had any opportunity to get back on his feet. If he received monthly checks, he would be able to buy food for himself, and maybe he wouldn’t feel like his skin was moments away from sloughing right off of his bones. 
星化的目光恋恋不舍地从传单上移开，长长地叹了口气，手指插进头发里，狠狠地抓挠了几下。他真是走投无路了，再这样下去，身体迟早要垮掉，还没等他缓过劲儿来，恐怕就要一命呜呼了。如果能拿到每月的补贴，至少能给自己买点吃的，或许就不用再感觉皮包骨头，仿佛身上的皮肉随时都要从骨头上剥落下来一般。

Seonghwa wondered what it would be like to feel full. That alone might make up for the whole blood bag part of the deal. Even when he was a child, when he had been given regular meals at the orphanage, he had only ever eaten to the point of feeling not hungry anymore. But to feel full… that was a foreign concept to him. 
星化忍不住好奇，吃饱到底会是什么感觉？光是这一点，或许就能抵消掉协议里“血袋”那部分了吧。哪怕是小时候，在孤儿院里能按时吃饭的时候，他也只是吃到不饿的程度而已。至于吃饱……那对他来说，简直是个陌生的概念。

If he had food, and money, and a bed to sleep in, then would it be so bad to willingly let vampires drain his blood in exchange for all of that? The entire reason that the flyer said “feeders wanted” was because yes, it was that bad, and no one wanted to let themselves be used in that way, but there had to come a point where it was the only option left. And as much as Seonghwa hated to admit it, he was pretty sure he had passed that point two weeks ago, when he had been forcefully thrown out of his apartment after missing three consecutive payments for his small, closet-sized room. 
如果有了食物、钱，还有一张能睡觉的床，那么心甘情愿地让吸血鬼吸他的血来换取这一切，真的有那么糟糕吗？ 传单上写着“招募饲主”的全部原因，正是因为，是的，事情就是这么糟糕，没有人愿意被人这样利用，但总会有那么一个时刻，这是唯一的选择。 尽管星化非常不愿意承认，但他很确定自己两周前就已经走到了那一步，当时他因为连续三个月没交房租，被硬生生地从那间小得像壁橱一样的房间里赶了出来。

His intense aversion to the sight of blood would be another issue, but that was a hurdle he would rather ignore at the moment. 
他对血液的极度厌恶会是另一个问题，但这是一个他目前宁愿忽略的障碍。

“If you ain’t waitin’ for the bus, piss off,” came a gruff voice, and Seonghwa startled out of his thoughts as a large man sat down on the bench, a cigarette sticking out from between his lips. He was wearing some kind of uniform, his skin worn with age and leathery from prolonged sun damage. “Homeless piece of shit.” 
“不坐车就滚蛋，” 一声粗犷的嗓音传来，星化猛然从思绪中惊醒，只见一个身材魁梧的男人一屁股坐在长椅上，嘴里叼着根烟。他穿着像是某种制服，饱经风霜的皮肤因长年累月的日晒而显得粗糙黝黑。“臭流浪汉。”

Clenching his jaw, Seonghwa balled his hands into fists as he rose from the bench, still staring at the man. He knew he looked like shit; his shirt had holes in it, he hadn’t showered in ages, and he was nothing more than skin and bones, but he still didn’t deserve to be spoken to like he was a mere waste of breath. “Hey, shut the fuck up, asshole,” he blurted, staggering slightly as his vision darkened. He had stood up too fast - dammit. 
星化咬紧牙关，攥紧了拳头，站起身来，依旧怒视着那个男人。他知道自己现在看起来很糟糕：衬衫破破烂烂，好久没洗澡了，瘦得只剩皮包骨，但他也不该被这样呼来喝去，好像自己只是个多余的废物。“喂，你他妈闭嘴，混蛋！” 他脱口而出，因为起身太猛，眼前一黑，踉跄了一下——该死。

“You watch your fuckin’ mouth,” the man growled, his robust brow shadowing the hollows of his eyes. “Surprised you ain’t a toy for a group of vamps yet. You sit here and stare at that flyer every goddamn day; do us all a favor and stop taking up space ‘round here. Blood is all you’re good for, now.”
“你他妈放干净点，” 那男的低吼着，浓眉压低，眼窝都陷在阴影里。“真他妈奇怪你怎么还没变成一群吸血鬼的玩物。你他妈每天坐这儿盯着那张传单看；行行好吧，别他妈在这儿占地方了。你浑身上下就他妈值点血了，知道吗？”

Even as Seonghwa stood there, he knew that any fight he might start would end with his face being pounded into the asphalt. So instead, he darted out his arm and snatched the cigarette from the man’s lips before turning tail and running down the street, a furious yell carrying after him. But the man wouldn’t follow him; Seonghwa knew the bus schedule like the back of his hand, and it would be there in about thirty seconds. If he chose to follow, he would miss the bus. 
就算盛华站在那儿，他也清楚一旦打起来，他的脸肯定会被按在地上摩擦。所以，他突然伸出手，一把夺走那男人口中的香烟，然后立刻转身，撒腿就跑，身后传来一阵怒吼。但他知道那男人不会追来；他对公交时刻表了如指掌，大概三十秒后车就来了。要是追他，就肯定赶不上车了。

Seonghwa turned a corner into a grimy alleyway and came to a stop, hands on his knees as he caught his breath, the cigarette held between two of his fingers. He grinned even as he gasped for air, head spinning dangerously, and once he could bear to stand up straight he leaned back against the wall and ripped away the end of the cigarette that had been in the man’s mouth before bringing the remaining length to his lips. 
星和拐进一条肮脏的小巷，扶着膝盖停了下来，大口喘着粗气，香烟夹在两指间。他咧嘴一笑，即使还在喘息，脑袋也危险地眩晕着。好不容易站直了，他靠在墙上，狠心掐掉了烟屁股——那玩意儿之前还在那家伙嘴里含着呢，然后把剩下的半截凑到自己嘴边，狠狠地吸了一口。

He inhaled once, twice, and then snuffed it out against the wall behind him, expression twisting in disgust. “Fuck, that’s nasty,” he muttered. “Talks a big game, but can’t afford the good stuff.” 
他深吸了两口，然后厌恶地扭曲着脸，把烟头在身后的墙上碾灭。“操，真他妈难抽，” 他嘟囔着，“吹得天花乱坠，结果连好烟都抽不起。”

His stomach rumbled, and he winced at the feeling, pressing his hand to his abdomen. He hoped that cigarette smoke had calories. 
他的肚子咕咕叫了起来，他难受地皱起眉头，按着自己的肚子。他真希望那该死的烟味能有点卡路里。

Groaning, he slowly made his way out of the other end of the alley, ambling aimlessly down the sidewalk once more. The feeder sign still lingered at the forefront of his mind, though, and after a few more steps he came to a stop, standing there on the side of the road. People shouldered past him, muttering words of irritation, but he paid them no mind. 
他呻吟着，慢慢地从巷子的另一头走了出来，再次漫无目的地在人行道上游荡。那个“金主”的招牌仍然在他脑海中挥之不去，走了几步后，他停了下来，站在路边。行人从他身边挤过，嘴里嘟囔着不满的话语，但他毫不在意。

At this point, the choice was out of his hands. He pictured a mental map of the city, and he turned on his heel, heading in the direction of the nearest blood bank. Filling out an application would be the first step, and it was worth a try - he knew he wasn’t medically eligible, but maybe he could con the right braindead employee. 
现在，已经由不得他选择了。他在脑海中勾勒出一幅城市地图，然后猛地转身，朝着最近的献血站走去。填申请表是第一步，值得一试——他知道自己身体上肯定不符合献血条件，但说不定能忽悠到哪个脑子不太灵光的员工呢。

He ran his hands through his hair a few times in an effort to make himself look presentable, although he was fighting a losing battle. The thick black strands brushed over his shoulders now, longer than normal, but at least his neck was covered. 
他用手在头发上胡乱抓了几把，想让自己看起来精神一点，但这注定是徒劳。浓密的黑色发丝现在已经披到了肩膀上，比平时长了不少，不过至少遮住了他的脖子。

The collar of his shirt had been stretched out over time, and it hung past his clavicle, the bones of his chest more visible than he would have liked. He tried to reposition the fabric, although his efforts were mostly useless, and when the blood bank came into view he had to just sigh and accept the fact that he looked awful. 
随着时间的推移，他衬衫的领口早已变形，松垮地挂在锁骨下方，胸前的骨头比他希望的更加显眼。他徒劳地试图整理衣领，但效果甚微。当献血站出现在视线中时，他只能叹口气，无奈地接受自己看起来糟透了的事实。

In truth, Seonghwa had always cared about his appearance; the problem was that for most of his life, he had never had the luxury of actually making himself look nice. He had gone from an orphan drowning in hand-me-down clothes to an adult confined to the same measly wardrobe he had taken with him when he had turned of age and left the place. 
说实话，星化一直很在意自己的外表。问题在于，他大半辈子都无福消受把自己打扮得光鲜亮丽的待遇。他从一个穿着别人旧衣服长大的孤儿，变成了一个成年后仍然被困在那几件可怜巴巴的衣服里的家伙，自从他成年离开孤儿院后，就再也没添置过新衣。

As he approached the entrance, he kept his gaze directed firmly towards the ground, careful not to meet the eyes of any of the people lined up outside, waiting to give their bimonthly pint of blood. Seonghwa had never qualified medically for blood donation, and he had only ever been to a blood bank for his yearly reevaluation, which he consistently failed each time. 
他走近入口时，眼睛一直盯着地面，生怕跟外面排队献血的人对上眼。这些人正等着每两个月一次的“放血”。成华的身体条件从来没达到献血的标准，他来血站也只是为了每年一次的复查，但每次都毫不意外地被刷下来。

“-no way he’s here to donate-”
“——他肯定不是来献血的。”

“Dude, he looks half dead, what the hell-”
“哥们儿，他看起来半死不活的，搞什么鬼——”

“-another blood bag, no doubt. Pathetic.”
“——又一个血袋，毫无疑问。真可悲。”

Gritting his teeth, Seonghwa forced himself to ignore the comments, reaching the glass doors at the front of the building and wrenching one of them open, the handle cold against his palm. He marched right inside, bypassing the line of donors and heading for the front desk instead. 
成华咬紧牙关，强迫自己不去理会那些闲言碎语，走到大楼的玻璃门前，一把拽开一扇，冰冷的把手冻得他手心一哆嗦。他径直走了进去，绕过献血的队伍，直奔前台。

The receptionist looked up at him, her lip curling slightly as she visibly scanned over his face and body. Before Seonghwa could even open his mouth, she jabbed a finger to her left, towards another waiting area opposite the one for donors. “Over there,” she directed, and Seonghwa closed his mouth once more, standing there for a second before going over to the second waiting area. 
接待员抬头看了他一眼，嘴角略微翘起，毫不掩饰地上下打量着他的脸和身体。星化还没来得及开口，她就用手指指了指左边，指向与捐助者等候区相对的另一个等候区。“那边，”她指示道。星化再次闭上了嘴，愣了一秒，才走向第二个等候区。

On the other side of the room, the donors at the front of the line sat in plush, cushioned chairs as they waited to be called into the donation room, chatting idly with one another. All different kinds of people were over there: men, women, young, old, rich, working class. And yet, they all cast disgusted looks in Seonghwa’s direction, voices changing as they continued to speak. Although Seonghwa couldn’t overhear their words, their new topic of conversation was obvious. 
房间的另一边，排在队伍最前面的捐助者们坐在舒适的软垫椅子上，等待着被叫进捐赠室，悠闲地聊着天。那里聚集着各种各样的人：男人、女人、年轻人、老人、富人、工薪阶层。然而，他们都用厌恶的目光看向星化，说话的声音也变了，继续说着。虽然星化听不见他们说什么，但很明显，他们新的谈话对象是他。

He sat down in a stiff metal chair, nothing like the comfortable ones for the donors. No one else was waiting in the feeder area, and Seonghwa pulled his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees. His skin was thick, for kindness from others had always been a rarity in his life, and he let their gossip roll right off of the armor he had crafted to fit his body since before he could even talk. 
他坐在一张硬邦邦的金属椅子上，跟那些给捐助者准备的舒适椅子完全没法比。候餐区空无一人，星化蜷起双腿抱在胸前，下巴抵在膝盖上。他脸皮很厚，因为从小到大就没怎么感受过别人的善意。那些闲言碎语，早就被他身上那层从小就打造好的盔甲给挡了回去。

A stack of applications sat on a small table beside his chair, and Seonghwa took one along with a pen, beginning to fill it out. The information requested was fairly basic, and he had to leave a fair portion of it blank due to his circumstances, but he suspected that was a common occurrence for people applying to be feeders. Those who had a home address and emergency contacts would never be sitting here in the first place.
椅子旁边的小桌子上堆着一沓申请表。星化拿起一张，又拿了支笔，开始填写。表格上的信息都挺基础的，但因为自身的情况，他有很多地方都只能空着。不过他猜，对来申请做“供养者”的人来说，这应该是常态吧。要是有家庭住址和紧急联系人，谁还会坐在这里呢？

Once he was finished, he set down the pen and rolled up the paper in his hands, tapping his fingers against the side of the chair as he waited. A few more minutes passed, and then the door right beside the feeder waiting area swung open, a doctor emerging. “Follow me,” he beckoned, and Seonghwa stood from his chair with the application in his hands, doing as instructed. 
他搁下笔，将那张纸卷起来，手指一下下敲着椅子的边缘，耐心等待着。几分钟后，喂料区旁边的门终于开了，一位医生走了出来。“跟我来，”他示意道。星化拿着申请表站起身，照着指示走了过去。

The doctor led him past two doors before turning into the third, a small examination room inside, identical to the ones where Seonghwa’s yearly revaluation was held. Seonghwa handed him the application and sat down in a chair, pleased to find that this one was cushioned, at least. 
医生领着他走了两扇门，然后转进了第三扇，那是一间小小的检查室，和星化每年复检的地方一模一样。星化把申请表递给他，然后在椅子上坐下，欣慰地发现这椅子至少还有点软垫。

The doctor sat behind the desk opposite Seonhwa’s chair, pressing a few keys to log onto the computer, and Seonghwa took special notice of which ones he pressed. If he wasn’t medically eligible, then some tampering might be in order, after all. The doctor looked down at the application before tapping at the keys again, probably pulling up Seonghwa’s records. “Park Seonghwa, please state your date of birth for verification,” he requested. 
医生坐在办公桌后，正对着星化的椅子，噼里啪啦地敲着键盘，似乎在登录电脑。星化特别留意他按了哪些键。万一自己不符合医学条件，那也许得暗中动点手脚才行。医生低头看着申请表，又敲了几下键盘，估计是在调取星化的档案。“朴星化，请核实一下你的出生日期，”他问道。

“April 3rd, 1998,” Seonghwa recited, although that date was actually just an approximation; his true date of birth was unknown, because he didn’t actually have a birth certificate. The circumstances of his birth were unknown, but he had been found and brought to the orphanage at two years old, and no information related to his birth or those first two years of his life had been discovered by the staff. 
“1998 年 4 月 3 日，”星化背诵道。虽然这个日期实际上只是个大概，因为他的真实出生日期根本无从知晓，他压根就没有出生证明。他的出生情况一片空白，两岁时被人发现并送到了孤儿院，工作人员始终没有找到任何关于他出生或最初两年的生活信息。

Continuing to tap at the keyboard, the man looked at Seonghwa with a slight frown. “You’ve never given blood bimonthly?” he asked, and Seonghwa shuffled his feet against the floor, shrugging his shoulders. 
男人没停下手里的活儿，一边敲着键盘，一边微微皱眉看向星化。“你没每两个月献一次血？” 他问，星化有点不自在地在地板上蹭了蹭脚，耸了耸肩。

“I’m always told I’m not eligible, when I come for my yearly appointments here. They prick my finger and test for something, I forgot what it’s called, but my levels are already too low so they can’t accept any donated blood from me.” Seonghwa had never really understood it, though, because did it really matter that vampires were given the most top of the line blood possible? He was pretty sure that blood was blood, to them. 
“我每次来这儿做年度体检，他们都说我不符合献血资格。” 星化有点无奈地撇撇嘴，“他们会扎我的手指，测一种什么东西…我忘了叫什么了，反正我的指标总是太低，所以他们不收我的血。” 他一直不太明白，吸血鬼们难道不是应该享用最好的血吗？对他们来说，血不就是血吗，有什么差别？

“Hemoglobin,” the man said, filling in the blank in Seonghwa’s statement. “Your hemoglobin is too low, which is an indicator that your iron levels are low as well. We don’t accept your blood for your own safety, as losing a pint will affect you more than most people. From the looks of you, anemia wouldn’t come as a surprise. But for it to have persisted your entire life… do you follow any special diet? Perhaps a lack of meat consumption?” 
“血红蛋白，” 那人接过话头，帮星化填补了空白，“你的血红蛋白太低了，这表明你的铁含量也很低。我们不接受你的血是为了你自己的安全，因为对你来说，失去一品脱血的影响会比大多数人更大。看你的样子，贫血也不足为奇。但是这种情况持续了你一辈子…你有没有什么特殊的饮食习惯？比如不吃肉？”

Not by choice. Seonghwa loved meat; the only problem was that he could never actually get his hands on it. “No special diet,” he answered. “Could it be caused by just… a lack of food in general?”
也不是他自己想吃素的。说实话，Seonghwa 超爱吃肉，问题是他总是吃不着啊。“没什么特殊饮食，” 他无奈地回答，“难道只是…单纯的因为我饿肚子饿太久了吗？”

The doctor stared at him for a moment, taking in the sharp jut of his cheekbones, the way the skin stretched right over the bone of his jaw. “Right,” he said, clearing his throat and looking back down at the computer screen. “And you came here to apply to become a feeder, correct?” 
医生盯着他看了一会儿，似乎要把他那棱角分明的颧骨，和他下巴上紧绷得几乎要撑破皮肤的线条都刻在脑子里。“好吧，”医生清了清嗓子，目光又回到电脑屏幕上，“你来这里是为了申请成为一个… 喂食者，对吧？”

Seonghwa nodded, fiddling with his fingers. He watched as the doctor continued to tap the keys before moving the mouse and clicking something, his eyes scanning over the computer screen. Seonghwa wished he could actually see what the man was looking at, what kind of medical records they possessed that pertained to him. He had never really been to the doctor outside of that yearly finger prick, so their data was likely pretty limited. 
星化点点头，手指不安地摆弄着。他注视着医生不停地敲击键盘，然后移动鼠标，点击了什么，目光扫视着电脑屏幕。星化真希望自己能看清那人到底在看些什么，他们掌握的关于他的医疗记录又是什么。除了每年一次的指尖采血，他几乎没怎么看过医生，所以他们的数据大概非常有限。

“Okay, well, first let me explain to you how the feeder system works. As you know, every human is mandated to donate one pint of their blood every two months in order to keep blood banks stocked for the vampires in the area. But there is another option for blood consumption for vampires: they can have a human feeder, if they wish. These terms were all negotiated many years ago, when humans and vampires finally came to an agreement on global regulations after centuries of conflict.” The doctor sounded bored as he recounted all of this, and Seonghwa had heard most of it before, but he listened along anyway. 
“好吧，先跟你说说这个供血系统是怎么运作的。你也知道，为了保证本地血库能满足吸血鬼的需求，每个人类都被强制要求每两个月献一品脱血。但吸血鬼还有另一种选择来获取血液：他们可以拥有人类供血者，如果他们愿意的话。这些条款都是很多年前，人类和吸血鬼在经历了几个世纪的冲突后，最终就全球法规达成一致时谈判的结果。” 医生听起来兴致缺缺，像背书一样，这些话成华大部分都听过了，但他还是耐着性子听着。

“All human feeders have to consent to the arrangement, and a contract must be negotiated between the two parties upon their first meeting, if all goes well. The first meeting is overseen by one of our officials, to ensure that both parties are satisfied. By agreeing to be a feeder and signing a contract, you are thus accepting that the vampire you are assigned to is permitted to feed from you at any time. You are effectively at their disposal, a fresh supply of blood whenever they want to feed.” 
“所有人类供血者都必须同意这项安排。如果一切顺利，双方在初次会面时必须协商并签订合同。为了确保双方都满意，第一次会面将由我们的一位官员监督。一旦您同意成为供血者并签署合同，就意味着您接受了您所分配的吸血鬼可以在任何时候吸食您的血液。实际上，您将任由他们摆布，成为他们随时可以享用的新鲜血液来源。”

Wrapping his arms around himself to hide a shiver, Seonghwa let the words wash over him. He understood that he was essentially throwing away any semblance of his own free will by doing this, but he didn’t have any other choice anymore. “But if I am assigned to a vampire and I decide after the first meeting that I don’t want to go through with it, I can still back out, right?” 
星化抱紧双臂，想以此来掩饰自己的颤抖，任凭这些话语冲击着他。他明白，这样做实际上是将自己所有的自由意志都抛弃了，但他已经别无选择。“但是，如果我被分配给一个吸血鬼，并且在第一次见面后，我决定不想继续下去，我仍然可以退出，对吧？”

The doctor nodded. “Yes. Until you sign your name on that contract, you can rescind your application at any time. Usually, at a typical first meeting, the vampire will feed on the human for a short time - under a minute - to both give the vampire a taste of the blood and introduce the human to how a typical feeding may feel. Both parties reserve the right to decline the match if they are not satisfied.” 
医生点点头。“没错。在你在合同上签字之前，你随时都可以撤回申请。通常情况下，在初次见面时，吸血鬼会稍微吸食人类的血液——时间很短，不到一分钟——这既能让吸血鬼尝尝血液的味道，也能让人类体验一下典型的吸血过程是什么感觉。如果双方不满意，都有权拒绝配对。”

“And, um, how long is a contract in effect?” Seonghwa asked, although he was afraid of the answer. “After it’s signed, there’s no way to back out of it, correct?”
“那，嗯，合同的有效期是多久？” 星化问道，尽管他害怕听到答案。“一旦签字，就没办法反悔了，对吧？”

“That is correct,” the doctor confirmed. Great. That wasn’t intimidating at all. “The length of the contract varies depending on the terms negotiated between the two parties. Some feeders are bound to their vampire for decades, while others start with only a handful of years. A contract can always be re-signed, so if you aren’t comfortable with a long span of time, make your preferences known. Too many times, feeders don’t speak up for themselves, and they wind up trapped in situations that they don’t want to be in.”
“没错，”医生证实道。好家伙，这话一点威慑力都没有。“合约期限长短取决于双方协商的具体条款。有些献血者和吸血鬼之间的绑定长达几十年，而另一些则从短短几年开始。合约随时可以续签，所以如果你不喜欢太长的期限，一定要明确表达你的偏好。太多时候，献血者们不为自己发声，最终陷入他们并不想待的境地。”

That didn’t come as a surprise, considering how desperate a person had to be to apply to be a feeder in the first place. If the vampire would only agree to a long contract and particularly harsh terms, a human who was desperate enough would agree just to have a steady income and a bed of their own. Hell, Seonghwa liked to think he had more self respect than that, but he wasn’t so sure. 
想想也正常，毕竟要不是走投无路，谁会想着去当什么“饲主”的血包呢？要是吸血鬼那边肯签个长约，条款又特别苛刻，那些穷疯了的人说不定就为了能有个稳定收入和一张床，咬着牙也答应了。 唉，盛华原本还自诩有点自尊心，可现在想想，真不好说。

“Alright,” he said after a beat of silence, digesting the information. “I want to do it. Put my application in; I’ll at least agree to meet my assignment, before I decide if I really want to do this or not.” 
“好吧，”他沉默了一会儿，消化着这些信息，然后说道，“我愿意试试。帮我提交申请吧；至少让我先见见要分配给我的‘主’，再决定要不要真的干这行。”

The doctor looked at him, and for a moment Seonghwa thought he was going to say something, to try to convince him not to do this. His eyes held a glimmer of sympathy, and it hit Seonghwa like a blow to the chest. He couldn’t even remember the last time someone had looked at him like that. 
医生看着他，那一瞬间，盛华以为他会说些什么，劝他别趟这浑水。医生的眼神里闪过一丝同情，像一记重拳打在盛华的胸口。他甚至都记不清，上次有人这么看着他，是什么时候了。

But the doctor didn’t say anything, and instead he just nodded once and returned to the computer, that momentary emotion disappearing from his face. Seonghwa sighed, looking down at his feet, the sides of his sneakers stained and dirty. He didn’t understand how people took the care in their lives for granted; one kind look and now Seonghwa’s heart was aching. He wondered what a kind touch would feel like, what it would do to him. 
医生什么也没说，只是点点头，便转回电脑前，脸上那瞬间流露出的情绪也消失得无影无踪。星化叹了口气，低下头，看着自己那双脏兮兮的球鞋，鞋边都蹭满了污渍。他不明白为什么有些人会把生活中的关怀视为理所当然；仅仅是一个善意的眼神，就让星化心里隐隐作痛。他开始好奇，如果能被温柔地触碰一下，会是什么感觉，又会对他造成怎样的影响。

“I will put your application through, but given your lack of medical information in the system along with your low iron levels, you shouldn’t get your hopes up. You will be entered into the feeder database, but the chance of your application yielding results is very unlikely,” the doctor explained, and Seonghwa pressed his lips together to hide his irritation. He had known that was coming, but he was desperate. 
“我会把你的申请提交上去，但是鉴于你在系统里没有任何医疗信息，而且你的血色素也很低，所以你最好别抱太大希望。我会把你加入到 feeder database 数据库里，但你的申请成功的几率非常小，” 医生解释道。星化紧紧抿着嘴，竭力压制着内心的烦躁。他早就料到会是这样，但他实在是走投无路了。

Immediately his brain began to turn, and he parted his lips as he glanced towards the door. “Is there a shower in this place somewhere? Can I use it?” he asked, and the doctor appeared taken aback by this request. “Please,” Seonghwa pressed. “We’re done here, aren’t we? Can you go, um, find out if that would be possible? I just… I want to feel clean.” 
他脑子立刻飞速运转起来，嘴唇微微分开，目光瞥向门口。“这儿有浴室吗？我能用一下吗？” 他问道，医生似乎对这个要求感到有些吃惊。“拜托了，” 星化催促道。“我们已经结束了吧，不是吗？你能去，嗯，看看有没有可能吗？我只是… 我想感觉干净一点。”

He was slightly embarrassed to be asking this in the first place, but this doctor wasn’t entirely bad, he could see that. And while a shower would be nice, that wasn’t the main reason why he was asking. He just needed to get the doctor out of the room for a minute or two. 
他问出这话，其实有点不好意思，但这个医生人还不算太坏，他看得出来。虽然洗个澡确实不错，但这并不是他提出要求的真正原因。他只是需要让医生离开房间一两分钟。

The doctor didn’t reply right away, contemplating the request, and finally he sighed. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said, standing from his seat behind the desk. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a minute.” 
医生没有立刻回答，似乎在考虑这个请求，最后叹了口气。“我去看看能不能安排，” 他说着，从办公桌后的椅子上站起身。“待在这里，我一会儿就回来。”

“Thank you,” Seonghwa replied, and the doctor gave him a nod as he strode from the room, the door closing softly behind him. Refusing to waste a single second, Seonghwa rounded the desk and hovered just above the chair the doctor had just stood from. If the doctor felt that the seat was warm, he might suspect something, and Seonghwa couldn’t afford that. He looked at the screen to find that the man had been smart enough to log out, but Seonghwa still remembered which keys he had pressed when logging in at the start. 
“谢了。”星化应了一声，医生点点头，大步走出房间，门在他身后轻轻关上。星化一秒都不想浪费，绕过桌子，悬在医生刚才站起身的椅子上方。如果医生觉得椅子是热的，可能会起疑心，星化可承受不起这个。他看向屏幕，发现那家伙还算聪明，已经登出了，但星化还记得他一开始登录时按了哪些键。

All the computer asked for was a passcode, and Seonghwa pressed the keys in the same order he had committed to memory, grinning to himself when the computer opened back up to show his medical records. PARK SEONGHWA was written at the top in red, all of his information following. Most of it made no sense to Seonghwa, but at the top of the page were the results of his yearly medical examinations, each row containing the information from a new year, each one deeming him ineligible for blood donation.
电脑只是要个密码，星化熟练地按下了那些早已刻在脑海中的数字，看到电脑屏幕上跳出自己的医疗记录，忍不住得意地笑了。大大的红色字体写着“PARK SEONGHWA”，下面是他的所有信息。大部分东西星化都看不懂，但页面最上方是他每年的体检结果，每一行都记录着新一年的信息，而每一年的结论都一样——不符合献血资格。

Seonghwa pressed the button to add a new row, and he typed in the current date, copying the information from the other rows to make it realistic. He only changed the content of one column, the one concerning his hemoglobin levels. The heading read Hemoglobin within range? and every following row contained an N to indicate that his levels were not within the required range. But now, Seonghwa added a Y to the new column he had created, and once that was all done he pressed Save. 
星和按下了“新增一行”的按钮，输入了今天的日期，还从其他行里复制了信息，力求真实。他只改动了一列的内容，也就是关于他血红蛋白水平的那一栏。那栏的标题是“血红蛋白在正常范围内？”，而之前的每一行都填着一个“N”，表示他的水平不在要求的范围内。但是现在，星和在他新建的这一列里填了个“Y”，全部搞定后，他按下了“保存”。

The page lagged for a moment as it updated, but as soon as the new row he had entered appeared, something else changed as well. PARK SEONGHWA was now written in green at the top of the page, and Seonghwa quickly logged out of the computer and returned to his seat on the other side of the desk. 
页面卡顿了一下，刷新后，他刚输入的新行出现了，但同时也发生了变化。页面顶端的名字变成了绿色，显示着 "PARK SEONGHWA"。星化立刻退出了电脑，回到办公桌的另一边坐下。

A few seconds later, the door opened once more, and Seonghwa turned around innocently to face the doctor. “You are permitted to use a shower, but only for ten minutes,” he informed, and Seonghwa rose from the chair with a soft smile. “Let me show you the way.” 
几秒后，门再次打开，星化天真地转过身，面对医生。“你可以去淋浴，但只有十分钟，”医生告知，星化带着一丝柔和的微笑从椅子上站了起来。“我带你过去。”

Seonghwa followed him down the hall, and he was led into a bathroom with a few shower stalls. The room wasn’t the cleanest, but Seonghwa didn’t care; he had existed in far worse conditions than this. He thanked the doctor, and as soon as the man left he stripped off his clothes and turned on the stream of water, letting it wash over him completely as it carried away the dirt and grime that clung to his skin. 
星和跟着他走下走廊，被带进一间有几个淋浴隔间的浴室。房间算不上干净，但星和并不在意，他经历过比这糟糕得多的环境。他向医生道谢，那人一离开，他就迫不及待地脱掉衣服，打开水龙头，让水流彻底冲刷着他，带走粘在他皮肤上的污垢和尘土。

A plastic container full of shampoo was mounted to the wall, and Seonghwa pressed the button to expel a glob of it into his palm, lathering it through his hair before washing it out. He repeated the same process three times before cleaning his body with soap as well, and once he was done he turned off the water, feeling more like himself than he had in weeks. 
墙上固定着一个装满洗发水的塑料容器，星化按了一下按钮，挤出一团洗发水到手掌里，揉搓出泡沫后抹在头发上，然后冲洗干净。他重复了三次同样的步骤，然后用肥皂清洗身体。完事后，他关掉水，感觉自己比几个星期以来都更像自己了。

The thought of putting his disgusting clothes back on wasn’t very appealing, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He used a few paper towels to dry off his body, as he didn’t have a real bath towel, and then he put his clothes back on and shook his head to shake some of the water droplets from his hair. 
一想到要再穿上那些脏兮兮的衣服，他就觉得一阵恶寒，但也实在没得选。他用几张纸巾胡乱擦干了身体——毕竟这里可没有正经的浴巾——然后皱着眉头把衣服重新套了回去，还甩了甩头，想把头发上的水珠甩掉。

After that, he left the bathroom and made his way back down the hall, exiting back out into the waiting area and making a stop at the desk occupied by the same receptionist as before. She didn’t look up at him, tapping away at her phone with little care for her surroundings, and he cleared his throat after a moment to get her attention. 
之后，他离开了洗手间，沿着走廊往回走，重新回到了等候区，并在之前那个前台接待的桌子前停了下来。她压根没抬头看他一眼，正专注地戳着手机，完全无视周围的一切。他清了清嗓子，希望能引起她的注意。

Setting her phone down, she redirected her attention to him, chewing loudly on the wad of gum in her mouth. “Can I help you?” she asked, sounding as if she would rather do anything other than help someone like him. 
她这才放下手机，不情愿地把视线转向他，嘴里嚼着口香糖，声音大得像是在敲鼓。“有什么事？”她问道，那语气，好像让她帮助他这样的人，简直比杀了她还难受。

Seonghwa forced himself to be polite, casting a glance towards the door he had just emerged from. “I just met with a doctor to submit my feeder application,” he said, seeing no reason to beat around the bush. She rolled her chair back a few inches, like being in his proximity alone was going to cause her some kind of harm, but he pushed on regardless. “I want to request that a different doctor covers my assignment, please.”
星和强迫自己保持礼貌，目光扫过他刚出来的房门。“我刚见了医生，提交了我的 feeder 申请，”他觉得没必要拐弯抹角。她往后挪了几寸椅子，好像仅仅是靠近他就会对她造成什么伤害似的，但他还是继续说了下去。“我想申请换一位医生来负责我的分配，拜托了。”

She raised a carefully manicured brow, making no move to submit his request. “And why is that?” she asked, sounding bored. “Dr. Kim is one of our best, and no other doctor in this place is going to be that kind to you. Don’t be ungrateful.” 
她挑起一根精心修剪过的眉毛，却丝毫没有要提交他请求的意思。“这是为什么呢？”她听起来兴致缺缺。“金医生可是我们这里最好的医生之一，而且这儿没有其他医生会对你那么好了。别不知好歹。”

He couldn’t even find it in himself to be mad at her response, because she was right. The doctor who had helped him just now had been kinder to him than most people, and it pained him to willingly ask for his case to be passed over to someone else, but he had no choice. If this Dr. Kim looked at Seonghwa’s profile in the system again, he would notice that it had been tampered with, and this would never amount to anything. 
他甚至没法对她的反应生气，因为她说的没错。 刚才帮他的那位医生，比大多数人都要友善，让他主动要求把自己的病例转给别人，他心里也挺过意不去的，但他别无选择。 如果这位金医生再次查看系统里星化的资料，他肯定会发现资料被篡改过，那一切就都白费了。

“I’m sorry, it’s just… I would prefer a female doctor,” he proposed, mentally rolling his eyes at the audacity of this woman. “I’m not comfortable around men. Can you please change that for me?” He almost felt bad for lying about it, although his words weren’t entirely without truth, but this receptionist was so annoying that he felt little remorse. 
“不好意思，就是… 我更喜欢女医生，”他提出要求，心里却对这女人的傲慢翻了个白眼，“我不太习惯和男人相处。 能帮我换一下吗？” 他几乎要为自己的谎言感到内疚了，虽然他的话也不完全是假的，但这个前台实在太烦人了，他也没什么好后悔的。

Grumbling to herself, she turned to her computer and tapped at the keys, her long nails making loud clicking sounds as she did so. Once she was done she rolled her chair back even further, looking at him with undisguised disgust. “Done. Now please, get out of here.”
她一边小声嘟囔着，一边转过身对着电脑噼里啪啦一顿敲，长长的指甲敲击键盘，发出清脆的声响。完事儿后，她把椅子往后滑得更远，毫不掩饰地用厌恶的眼神盯着他。“搞定了。现在，请你立刻从我眼前消失。”

“Can you tell me when I need to be back?” Seonghwa asked, ignoring the muttered words being spoken by the donors waiting in line to give blood. “I don’t have a phone.”
“我需要什么时候回来呢？” 星化问道，完全无视排队献血的捐献者们低声的抱怨。“我没有手机。”

She sighed, clicking at the mouse one more time before writing something down on a slip of paper and setting it down on the portion of desk between them, unwilling to actually touch him. “You’ll need to use this login information to check our portal. When you’re assigned to a vampire, the information will show up there. Surely you can use a public computer somewhere for that.” 
她叹了口气，又点了一下鼠标，然后在纸条上写了些什么，放到两人之间的桌面上，显然不愿意碰到他。“你需要用这些登录信息来查看我们的 portal。当你被分配给吸血鬼后，相关信息就会显示在那里。我相信你总能在哪里找到一台公共电脑来用吧。”

Seonghwa took the slip of paper and folded it carefully before sliding it down into his pocket with a nod. “Okay, thank you,” he said, turning on his heel and leaving through the glass doors when she gave him no response. Once outside, he bristled with irritation towards that entire interaction, but he forced it from his mind. At least he was clean, and his tampering with the system would hopefully go undetected by the new doctor assigned to his case. 
星和接过那张纸条，小心地叠好，点点头，塞进了口袋里。“好的，谢谢，” 他说完，转过身，见那接待员没再吭声，便推开玻璃门走了出去。一出门，他就被刚才那场互动搞得心烦意乱，但他强迫自己把这事儿抛到脑后。起码他现在是干干净净的了，而且他偷偷篡改系统的事情，但愿不会被新来的医生发现。

~

Over the next few days, he went to the public library both in the morning and afternoon to use the computers there, logging into the website that the receptionist had written down for him along with his login information. Every time, he found no new news about his assignment, and he sunk further into his misery as the days dragged along. 
接下来的几天，他每天上午和下午都跑到公共图书馆，用那里的电脑登录接待员写给他的网址和账号信息。可每次上去，都没发现任何关于他任务的新消息，日子一天天过去，他也越发觉得生无可恋。

He was starving, and one night he managed to catch a restaurant handing out food before closing, but none of it was ever enough to fill his stomach. Roaming the streets had proven to be too dangerous now that he was never sure if he was going to faint or not, and the library became his only sanctuary, a place where he could linger for an hour or two before returning to his car. Sometimes one of the librarians even gave him some ice water and a snack, which he appreciated more than she could ever know. 
他饿得前胸贴后背，有天晚上好不容易赶上家餐厅打烊前施舍食物，但那点东西根本填不饱肚子。现在在街上晃荡太危险了，他随时都可能晕倒，图书馆成了他唯一的避难所，至少能让他待上一两个小时，然后再回到车里。有时候，图书馆员还会给他冰水和小零食，他感激得简直无以言表。

However, just as he was reaching his limit and resigning himself to returning to the job search, he logged into the portal one afternoon to find that an assignment had been posted. He had missed his morning trip to the library, for he had been too weak to leave his car until he caved and ate the last granola bar in the box in his trunk, and as soon as the page loaded he froze in surprise.
然而，就在他快撑不下去，打算重新开始找工作的时候，某天下午他登录系统，发现竟然有任务发布了！他错过了早上常去的图书馆，因为他太虚弱了，根本没力气离开车子，直到他实在扛不住，把后备箱里最后一根能量棒给啃了。页面一加载出来，他瞬间就愣住了。

Where before the portal had read PARK SEONGHWA: NO ASSIGNMENT , now it read PARK SEONGHWA: ASSIGNED WITHIN IMMORTALIST COVEN . The name of the vampire wasn’t provided, but the name of the coven was enough to make Seonghwa’s skin burn, panic constricting his throat. Even someone like him, who knew very little about vampires in general, knew about the Immortalist Coven. 
之前传送门上显示的是“朴星化：未分配”，现在变成了“朴星化：已分配至永生者血族”。虽然没有显示吸血鬼的名字，但血族的名字已经足以让星化感到如芒在背，恐惧扼住了他的喉咙。即使像他对吸血鬼知之甚少的人，也听说过永生者血族的名号。

The most powerful coven in the city, small in number but easily the most dominant out of the four. For the most part, the vampires in the city tended to roam the same areas as humans at night, taking to the city streets and mingling with humans, working regular night shifts, and behaving as regular people. But the immortalists only left their section of forest at rare times, even Seonghwa knew that. They kept to themselves for the most part, an air of mystery shrouding the Immortal Forest and the coven house within it. 
这座城市里最强大的血族，人数不多，却轻而易举地凌驾于其他四个血族之上。 城市的吸血鬼们通常在夜晚和人类混迹在同一片区域，走在街头，与人类交往，做着寻常的夜班工作，行为举止也和普通人无异。但永生者们极少离开他们的森林领地，星化也知道这一点。他们大部分时间都与世隔绝，神秘的气息笼罩着永生森林以及其中的血族宅邸。

From what he knew, the immortalists had been around the longest out of the four covens in the city, and the oldest ones amongst their number had played a major role in the global peace negotiated between humans and vampires before they settled down here in Seoul. 
就他所知，永生者们是城里四个帮派里历史最悠久的，他们中最老的那批人，在人类和吸血鬼达成全球和平协议、最终定居首尔之前，可是发挥了举足轻重的作用。

Seonghwa had been assigned within that coven? He couldn’t imagine how such a decision had been made, and dread accumulated in the pit of his stomach as he imagined how those vampires would react to the sight of him. Surely they were interested in finding a feeder who was healthy, who could supply them with blood that would suit their needs, and Seonghwa was perhaps the last person on earth who would suit that position. 
星和居然被分到了那个血族聚会里？他简直无法想象上面是怎么做出这种决定的，一想到那些吸血鬼看到他时的反应，就觉得胃里一阵阵的抽痛，恐惧感也随之而来。他们肯定都想找个健康的“血源”，能提供符合他们需求的血液，而星和大概是这地球上最不适合这个位置的人选了吧。

Maybe tampering with his health information had been a mistake, because he never would have been given this assignment if he was still considered medically ineligible in the system. No one in the Immortalist Coven would actually want to feed from someone like Seonghwa once, let alone permanently. 
可能篡改了他的健康信息是个错误，因为如果他在系统里还被认为是不符合医疗条件的人，他根本不可能被分配到这个任务。永生者聚会的任何人都不会真的想吸像星化这样的人的血，更别提是永久的了。

On the screen, a date and time were listed as well, and as Seonghwa read it over he realized that he was supposed to meet the vampire he had been assigned to today. Well, tonight - he was supposed to go to the blood bank at sundown, and then he would travel with the overseer to the coven house where he would meet the vampire. 
屏幕上还列出了日期和时间，星化仔细阅读后意识到，他今天要和他被分配的吸血鬼见面了。好吧，是今晚——他应该在日落时去血库，然后和监督员一起去聚会所，在那里他会见到那个吸血鬼。

That left him with barely any time before he needed to go to the blood bank, and he quickly logged out of the computer before leaving the library, his anxiety so thick that he could hardly breathe through it. He hurried back to his car, and he changed into the best set of clothes he owned, the ones he reserved for interviews and other opportunities when he needed to make himself look like he wasn’t running on a granola bar and four hours of sleep. 
时间紧迫，他得赶紧去献血站，于是他手忙脚乱地退出了电脑，离开了图书馆。焦虑像一块巨石压在他的胸口，让他几乎喘不过气。他一路小跑回到车旁，赶紧换上了自己最体面的那套衣服——那是他为面试或其他重要场合准备的，为了让自己看起来不像是靠着一块燕麦棒和四个小时的睡眠硬撑着。

After that, he used the mirror in his car to make himself look as presentable as possible, and he hoped that he wouldn’t be immediately kicked out of the Immortalist Coven house. He had swallowed his pride and showered at the nearby homeless shelter the day before, which he was grateful for now, because he didn’t look as terrible as he had anticipated. 
之后，他对着车里的后视镜，尽可能地让自己看起来精神一点。他心里忐忑不安，生怕自己一进永生者聚会所的大门就被轰出来。前一天，他可是忍痛割爱，去附近的流浪者收容所洗了个澡，现在想想真是太明智了，至少他看起来没有自己想象的那么糟糕。

Making sure to bring his ID along with him, Seonghwa left his car and locked it, heading for the blood bank. He didn’t attract as many odd looks when he was dressed in his nicest pair of clothes, and he didn’t feel so alienated as he walked up to the entrance of the blood bank either, this time. The last hints of the sunset were disappearing, and the line of donors at this time was far shorter, contained inside of the building. 
星和确认带好了身份证，锁好车，朝献血站走去。穿上他最好的衣服，他引来的异样目光少了很多。这次，当他走到献血站入口时，也没有那么疏离的感觉了。最后一抹夕阳正在消失，这个时候的献血者队伍短了很多，都在大楼里面排队。

He opened the door and walked inside, approaching the front desk to find a new receptionist there this time. She asked for his identification and he slid his license across the desk, allowing her to check him in. Once she was finished, he sat in that same waiting area as before until a new doctor emerged from the door to the examination rooms. 
他推开门走了进去，走到前台，发现这次换了个新的接待员。她让他出示身份证，他把驾照递了过去，让她登记。登记完之后，他像上次一样坐在等候区，直到一位新的医生从检查室的门里走了出来。

As requested, the doctor was a woman, her hair tied back into a severe bun, harsh lines creasing the skin around the corners of her mouth. Her expression was cold, and it didn’t soften at the sight of him. “Come with me,” she said, turning without waiting for him to follow.
应他的要求，来的医生果然是个女的，头发一丝不苟地挽成发髻，嘴角周围的皱纹就像刀刻的一样。她表情冷冰冰的，看到他也没有丝毫缓和。“跟我来，” 她说完就转身走了，根本没等他。

Seonghwa scrambled up from his seat and caught the door before it closed in his face, following her down the hallway. Instead of bringing him into an examination room, the two of them continued to move down the hallway, until she led him into an office room. She sat down behind the desk, and he sat in the chair on the other side, awkwardly looking at the walls in order to avoid eye contact. 
星化赶紧从座位上跳起来，一把抓住门，免得被关在外面，然后跟在她身后走过走廊。她并没有带他去检查室，而是径直把他领进了一间办公室。她径自坐到办公桌后面，他也只好坐在对面的椅子上，为了避免眼神接触，尴尬地四处张望。

“You have matched with a member of the Immortalist Coven, as you viewed on the portal already, correct?” she asked, a pair of slim glasses perched on the end of her nose, and Seonghwa nodded. “It is my job to provide you with further details, and then we will travel to the coven house, where you will meet the vampire assigned to you. He will feed from you, and if you wish to proceed with the contract, we will negotiate the terms.”
“正如你已经在网站上看到的，你和永生者女巫团的成员配对成功了，对吧？”她问道，鼻梁上架着一副精致的细框眼镜。盛华点了点头。“我的工作是向你提供更详细的信息，然后我们会一起去女巫团的住所，在那里你会见到分配给你的吸血鬼。他会吸你的血，如果你想继续这份契约，我们再来商议具体条款。”

All of this felt so official now, and Seonghwa swallowed thickly as he mumbled an agreement, his palms slicked with sweat. The vampire was a man, then - she had said “he.” Although, now that he considered it, he had never heard of a female immortalist who lived in Seoul. 
一切都变得如此正式，盛华紧张地咽了口唾沫，小声表示同意，手心都沁出了汗。这么说，那个吸血鬼是个男人——她刚才说了“他”。不过，仔细想想，他还真没听说过首尔有哪个女性永生者。

She placed a folder down on the desk, and she opened it to pull out a few pieces of paper, stapled together at the top left corner. “You have been assigned to a vampire by the name of Kim Hongjoong. He is a member of the Immortalist Coven; the leader, to be exact. He has never owned a feeder before, in all of his years of life. You are the first human he has been interested in meeting.”
她把一个文件夹放到桌上，打开它，抽出几页钉在一起的纸。“你被指派给一个名叫金弘中的吸血鬼。他是永生者盟约的成员；确切地说，是首领。在他漫长的一生中，他从未有过 feeder。你是第一个引起他兴趣想要见面的凡人。”

What? Seonghwa could do nothing but blink at her for a moment, completely dumbfounded. “Um, me?” he asked lamely, pointing at himself. “Are you sure?”
什么？盛华一时语塞，只能眨巴着眼睛看着她，完全懵了。“呃，我？”他笨拙地指着自己，问道。“你确定吗？”

“You are Park Seonghwa, aren’t you?” she asked, looking at him over the top of her glasses, arching a brow. 
“你就是朴星化，没错吧？” 她问道，镜片后的眼神带着审视，眉毛也挑了起来。

Face warming, Seonghwa nodded. “Yeah, I am,” he confirmed, coughing lightly into his fist. “Sorry, I just - I wasn’t expecting that. Are you sure there wasn’t, like, a mistake, or something?”
星化脸颊发烫，点了点头。“嗯，我是，” 他清了清嗓子，略带歉意地说，“不好意思，我只是… 没想到会这样。你确定没搞错吗？或者… 是不是哪里出了什么问题？”

“We do not make mistakes when it comes to this,” she said, her voice possessing a colder edge now, and Seonghwa clamped his mouth shut. “Every feeder profile has a copy of your identification photo attached; for you, that would be the photo on your driver’s license. Your basic information as it pertains to your potential as a feeder is provided as well; blood type, height, weight, and other basic measures. No otherwise defining information is provided to protect your identity. From what he saw of you, he was interested.” 
“在这件事上，我们绝不会出错，” 她的语气冷了下来，星化立刻闭上了嘴。“每个‘饲养者’的档案里都附有你的身份照片；对你来说，就是你驾照上的照片。还有你作为‘食物’的潜力相关信息；血型、身高、体重，以及其他基本数据。为了保护你的身份，不会提供其他更详细的信息。他看到你的照片后，就表示很感兴趣。”

Seonghwa exhaled a long breath, unsure of how to handle any of this. At least his driver’s license photo wasn’t terrible; he had looked a hell of a lot better back then than he did now. The photo was only about three years old, for he had gotten his license at twenty-three, and he had been working a decent enough job at the time to be able to afford his shitty apartment room and enough food to fill out his face a bit more. 
星化长长地叹了口气，完全不知道该怎么应付眼前这堆烂摊子。 至少他的驾照照片还过得去，想起那时候，他可比现在这副鬼样子精神多了。 照片也就三年前照的，他二十三岁才考到驾照，那时候还算有个能糊口的工作，起码能负担得起那间破公寓，也能买点吃的，把脸颊稍微填饱一点。

The same couldn’t be said for his current condition, and his anxiety only grew when he considered how the leader of the Immortalist Coven would react when he took note of how different Seonghwa looked. The fucking leader. Of the Immortalist Coven. 
现在可就没那么乐观了。一想到 Immortalist Coven 的那位大佬，要是发现他现在这副尊容跟照片上差这么多，会是什么反应，星化就更加焦虑了。 该死的大佬。 Immortalist Coven 的大佬啊！

Kim Hongjoong. What the hell did he want with someone like Seonghwa? Someone like him could probably have any feeder he wanted, and Seonghwa wasn’t even medically eligible, although his profile didn’t reflect that anymore. One glimpse of him and Hongjoong would instantly lose interest, which might be for the best. 
金弘中到底想从他朴星化身上得到什么？像他那种段位的，想要什么样的饲主找不到，更何况星化现在身体状况根本不符合要求——虽然他的资料上已经不是这么显示的了。说不定金弘中只要看他一眼，就会立刻失去兴趣，这样或许反而是最好的结果。

The woman continued to rattle off more information, but Seonghwa was hardly listening, her words reaching his ears through a haze of fear. Within the hour, he would be standing in a coven house, meeting one of the most powerful vampires in history. His knees felt weak at the mere thought, and he was grateful that he was sitting down. 
那女人还在滔滔不绝地介绍着更多信息，但星化几乎什么都没听进去，她的声音就像隔着一层恐惧的迷雾传进他的耳朵。一个小时之内，他就要站在一个巫师集会所里，会见一位史上最强大的吸血鬼。光是想想，他就觉得双腿发软，幸好现在是坐着的。

Eventually, the doctor stopped talking and rose from her chair, asking Seonghwa to follow her. Seonghwa stood as well, his entire body shaky as they both vacated the room, dreading the situation he was about to walk into. He didn’t say a word as she led him out through a different exit, where a van was waiting for them, the blood bank logo printed on the side of it. She sat in the passenger seat, and Seonghwa slid into the backseat, heart pounding against his ribs. 
最终，医生停止了絮叨，从椅子上起身，示意星化跟她走。星化也跟着站起来，浑身颤抖着，预感到接下来要面对的糟糕状况。他一言不发地跟着她从另一个出口走了出去，一辆印着血库标志的厢型车正停在那里等着他们。医生坐进了副驾驶座，星化则滑进了后座，心脏砰砰地撞击着他的肋骨，仿佛下一秒就要跳出来。

This was really happening. The van pulled away from the blood bank, heading for one of the four thick swathes of forest amidst the city, where the coven house awaited them. Although Seonghwa had lived in Seoul all his life, he had never dared to venture into the forests held within it, and this would be the first time he actually saw a coven house. This would be the first time he willingly walked into vampire territory, the first time he let a vampire drink his blood. 
这居然是真的。面包车驶离血库，朝着城市中四片茂密森林中的一片驶去，那里是圣殿的所在地。虽然星化在首尔生活了一辈子，但他从未敢于冒险进入其中的森林，而这将是他第一次真正见到圣殿。这将是他第一次自愿走进吸血鬼的领地，第一次让吸血鬼喝他的血。

Or, at least, the first time that he would actually remember. 
或者，至少，是他真正记得的第一次。

He raised a hand to his neck, rubbing over the scars there, almost entirely faded with age by now. Turning his head, he watched the city pass by through the window, resting his cheek against the glass and sighing at the cool sensation. His skin felt too hot and too cold at the same time, and when the edge of the forest came into view, nausea curled at the base of his throat. 
他抬手摩挲着脖颈，那里曾留下的伤疤，随着时间流逝几乎已经淡得看不见了。他转过头，看着窗外的城市飞逝而过，脸颊贴在冰凉的玻璃上，叹了口气。皮肤忽冷忽热，难受极了，当森林的边缘映入眼帘时，一股恶心感直冲喉咙。

The patches of forest amidst the cities of the world had always been there, long before any urbanization had ever occurred. Vampires had been around far longer than any current humans, after all, and when a peace had finally been settled between species, part of the terms had included the preservation of a certain circumference of forest surrounding existing coven houses. And thus, the current hybrid cities had been born as areas urbanized, lush sections of forest smack dab in the center of every major city in the world. 
世界各地的城市中，总会存在着那么几片未经开发的原始森林，这远早于任何城市化进程。毕竟，吸血鬼存在的时间比现在的人类要久远得多。当两个物种最终达成和平协议时，其中一项条款就包括保护现有血族领地周围一定范围的森林。因此，就诞生了现在这种混合型城市：在城市扩张的过程中，每一座主要城市中心都保留着一片郁郁葱葱的森林。

And now, Seonghwa watched through the window as the forest swallowed the van whole, only small flickers of moonlight still visible through the dense foliage above and around them. The van’s headlights illuminated the dirt road that brought them deeper into the immortalist domain, and Seonghwa’s apprehension grew with every second that passed. 
现在，星和透过车窗，眼睁睁地看着森林将整辆面包车吞噬，只有几缕微弱的月光还能穿透上方和周围茂密的树叶。面包车的前灯照亮了通往永生者领地的泥泞道路，星和的不安感也随着每一秒的流逝而增长。

What would the vampires be like? He had never actually spoken to one before, because although they were free to traverse the city as much as they wanted, they could only go out at night. Seonghwa had always made a point to be safe inside by sundown, whether that be within the orphanage, his old apartment, or his car. 
那些吸血鬼会是什么样的呢？ 他之前还真没跟吸血鬼说过话，虽说他们能在城里自由活动，但只能晚上出来溜达。 圣华一直坚持日落之前就得找个安全地儿猫着，不是在孤儿院，就是在之前的公寓，要么就躲在车里。

Not because vampires were violent; perhaps they had been at one time in history, but they weren’t anymore. At least, not any more dangerous than some humans could be. But given the bits and pieces of information that Seonghwa knew relating to his own past, as well as the stigma that still surrounded vampires as a species, he had never been willing to take his chances. Not until now, at least. 
倒不是因为吸血鬼有多暴力；也许在历史上的某个时期，他们确实挺吓人的，但现在早就不那样了。 至少，他们并不比某些人类更危险。 但考虑到圣华所了解的关于自己身世的零星片段，以及吸血鬼这个种族至今仍背负的污名，他一直不愿意冒险。 至少，直到现在才不得不硬着头皮上了。

Now, he was willingly driving straight into vampire territory, and when the first shadowed image of the coven house came into view he stifled a gasp. He had never seen one in the flesh before, and the shadows seemed to warp around it, like the very foundations of the house absorbed the darkness itself. 
现在，他心甘情愿地往吸血鬼的老巢里钻，当那栋巢穴的模糊轮廓映入眼帘时，他倒吸一口凉气。他以前可没亲眼见过这种地方，阴影仿佛都在扭曲着缠绕着它，好像房子的地基本身就吸收了所有的黑暗。

The house had been around for a long time, and although it appeared to be in good condition, the exterior design betrayed its age. Gothic in style, the walls of the house were built from thick, dark grey stone, seemingly built into three stories. The windows were tall and curved at the tops, black panes splitting the glass, revealing the dim orange lighting that filled the inside of the house. 
这栋房子肯定有些年头了，虽然看起来保养得还不错，但外观设计还是暴露了它的年代感。哥特式的风格，房子由厚重的深灰色石头砌成，似乎有三层楼高。高耸的窗户顶端呈弧形，黑色的窗格分割着玻璃，露出了屋内昏暗的橙色灯光。

It looked almost like a castle, with black roof tiles that sloped and curved over the different architectural features of the house. The chimney looked more like the turret of a castle, and shiny black iron crestings lined the roof. Although it was difficult to tell from his current vantage point, Seonghwa was pretty sure that some of the windows were even made from stained glass, depicting intricate images that he couldn’t make out in full. 
那房子简直像一座城堡，黑色的瓦片层层叠叠，勾勒出屋顶的各种建筑特色。烟囱更像是城堡的炮塔，闪亮的黑色铁饰沿着屋顶一字排开。虽然从他现在的角度很难看清楚，但星化几乎可以肯定，有些窗户甚至是彩色玻璃制成的，上面描绘着精美的图案，只是他无法完全辨认出来。

The sight took his breath away, and he didn’t snap out of his trance until the van came to a stop, his heart leaping into his throat. “We’ve arrived,” the doctor said from the front seat, opening her door and stepping out onto the grass. Struggling to breathe, Seonghwa opened his door and followed after her, staring up at the house as it stretched up above his head. 
眼前的景象让他屏住了呼吸，直到面包车停了下来，他才从恍惚中回过神来，心跳也提到了嗓子眼。“我们到了。”医生在前排说道，打开车门，走到了草地上。星化努力平复呼吸，打开车门跟在她身后，仰望着高耸入云的房子。

Something about the atmosphere of this place, the energy in the air… it was captivating and dangerous all at once, and he lingered behind the doctor as she ascended the front steps to stand before the door. He brushed his hand over the railing, black and woven with intricate details, the metal cold against his palm. 
这地方的气氛，空气里涌动的能量… 有种让人着迷又暗藏危险的魔力，他忍不住放慢脚步，跟在医生身后，看着她登上台阶，走到门前。他伸手抚摸着栏杆，黑色的金属上缠绕着繁复的纹路，冰冷的触感传到掌心。

“Hurry,” the doctor snapped, and Seonghwa blinked hard before joining her in front of the door. A thick iron door knocker was mounted against the door itself, black like everything else. The doctor reached out to lift and drop it, a loud knocking sound reverberating through the thick mahogany of the door, and Seonghwa shuddered involuntarily. 
“快点，” 医生不耐烦地催促道，星化猛地眨了眨眼，这才快步走到她身边。厚重的铁门上装着一个粗大的门环，也是黑色的，和周围的颜色融为一体。医生抬手敲了敲门环，“咚咚” 的声音穿透厚实的红木大门，在空气中回荡，星化忍不住打了个寒颤。

They waited for several seconds before the doorknob twisted, oval in shape with detailing all over the surface, and Seonghwa’s breath caught in his throat. He backed up a step, but he couldn’t go anywhere as the door swung open, a vampire standing right before them. 
等待的每一秒都像一个世纪那么长，门把手终于转动了，那椭圆形的把手上布满了精致的花纹，圣华的心跳都漏了一拍。他下意识地退后了一步，可身后就是墙，根本无处可躲。门吱呀一声打开了，一个吸血鬼就这么出现在他们眼前。

He was tall, with broad shoulders and black hair that teased the tops of his brows. Much to Seonghwa’s confusion, he was wearing a lab coat, and he smiled softly at the sight of them. Oddly, his fangs weren’t visible, but perhaps vampires had a way of retracting them when they weren’t actively needed. Seonghwa didn’t know any of those details; he had never had any reason to inquire. “Hello there,” he greeted, his voice normal. If Seonghwa had encountered him on the street, he never would have known he was a vampire, a chilling thought. “Come in.” 
他很高，肩膀宽阔，黑色的头发随意地搭在额头上，带着点不羁。更让圣华摸不着头脑的是，他竟然穿着一件白大褂，看到他们时还露出了一个温柔的笑容。奇怪的是，他的獠牙并没有露出来，也许吸血鬼有某种方法可以在不需要的时候收回它们。圣华对这些细节一无所知，毕竟他以前从来没有理由去打听这些。 “你们好，” 他用一种很平常的语气打着招呼。如果圣华在街上遇到他，绝对不会知道他是个吸血鬼，这个想法让他不寒而栗。“进来吧。”

“Thank you, Yunho,” the doctor said with a dip of her head, crossing over the threshold, and Seonghwa followed after her a moment later. Yunho? So this wasn’t Kim Hongjoong, then. Seonghwa wasn’t sure if that was good or bad news. And how did the doctor know his name?
“谢谢你，允浩，”医生微微颔首，跨过门槛走了出去，星化稍后也跟了上去。允浩？所以，这不是金弘中。星化不确定这是好消息还是坏消息。还有，医生怎么知道他的名字？

Seonghwa shuffled his way inside, and immediately he was captivated by the interior decoration, for it was just as entrancing as the outside had been. The walls were covered in thick panels of dark wood, and the moldings were black and intricate, matched perfectly to the exterior. He had entered into some kind of short entryway, and he couldn’t even imagine what the rest of the house looked like. 
星化磨蹭着走了进去，立刻就被室内的装潢迷住了，简直和外面一样吸引人。墙壁上覆盖着厚厚的深色木板，黑色的线条错综复杂，与外观完美匹配。他走进了一个小小的门厅，完全无法想象房子的其他部分会是什么样子。

Footsteps reached his ears, and he snapped his head to the side just in time to see someone new come through the opening to the right, which must have led to the rest of the first floor. This vampire was shorter, and immediately his aura was more aligned with what Seonghwa had expected. He practically exuded power, and Seonghwa couldn’t tear his gaze away. 
脚步声传入耳中，他猛地扭头，正好看见有人从右侧的入口走了进来，那里应该通往一楼的其他地方。这个吸血鬼身材矮小一些，但他的气场立刻就符合了星化之前的预期。他几乎浑身都散发着力量，星化的目光根本无法从他身上移开。

His hair was black as well, but it curled past his jaw, thick and slightly unruly. The line of his jaw was sharp, and his skin was pale, highlighting the color of his lips. His frame was small but significant, and he was dressed more like Seonghwa had imagined, a black silk shirt draping over his shoulders. A deep, V-shaped neckline exposed the plane of his chest, his skin the color of porcelain. 
他的头发也是黑色的，但带着卷曲，过了下巴，浓密又略显不羁。下颌线条锋利，皮肤白皙，衬托得嘴唇颜色更加鲜艳。他的身形虽然娇小，但存在感十足，穿着也更符合星化的想象，一件黑色丝绸衬衫披在他的肩上。深 V 领口露出了他胸前的肌肤，如同瓷器般白皙。

He was the most beautiful man that Seonghwa had ever seen, and he had to rest a hand against the wall to keep himself from staggering backwards under the mere strength of the presence before him. This was Kim Hongjoong, he knew it before the vampire even opened his mouth. And he was staring right at Seonghwa, one side of his mouth lifting in the barest of movements. A grin or a smirk - Seonghwa wasn’t quite sure. Maybe both. 
他绝对是星化这辈子见过的最好看的男人，仅仅是站在他面前，那股强大的气场就压得他喘不过气，不得不扶住墙才能勉强站稳。没错，他就是金弘中。星化甚至还没听到他开口，就已经确认了他的身份。而现在，金弘中正盯着他，嘴角微微一挑，似笑非笑，又像是带着点轻蔑，让人捉摸不透。

“You are Park Seonghwa,” he said, and it wasn’t a question. He was merely stating a fact as he stared right at Seonghwa, those dark eyes holding him completely in place. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” 
“你是朴星化。”他的语气肯定，并非疑问，只是在陈述一个事实。那双深邃的眼睛牢牢地锁住星化，让他动弹不得。“幸会。”

Unlike the first vampire, his voice was different - his words possessed a slight accent that Seonghwa had never heard before, but already he was desperate for the man to speak again. Struggling to find his own voice, Seonghwa allowed his lips to part, noticing how the vampire’s gaze flitted to his mouth for a split second. “You’re Kim Hongjoong,” he replied, his skin on fire. 
和初拥他的那个吸血鬼不同，金弘中的声音带着一丝成华从未听过的口音，但仅仅是听了一句，成华就渴望他再次开口。成华费力地想找回自己的声音，他微微张开嘴唇，注意到吸血鬼的目光有一瞬间落在了他的嘴上，这让他感觉像被火烧一样。“你是金弘中，” 他回答道。

Hongjoong dipped his head slightly, a few pieces of hair falling over his eyes. “That I am,” he said, the accent curling around his words, dripping from his lips like nectar. “You are even more lovely in person.” 
金弘中微微低头，几缕发丝垂落遮住了他的眼睛。“如你所见，” 他说道，那口音在字里行间萦绕，像花蜜一样从他的唇边滴落。“真人比照片还要可爱。”

That had to be a lie, but Seonghwa blushed anyway, head spinning. This was not at all how he had expected this interaction to go, and he was left ungrounded now, all of his preconceived notions shaken. What was this vampire playing at? Did he intend to coerce Seonghwa right into a contract before dropping this act? 
这一定是谎话，但星化还是不受控制地红了脸，脑袋嗡嗡作响。事情的发展完全超出了他的预料，他感觉自己像失去了重心，之前的所有设想都被彻底颠覆。这个吸血鬼到底在玩什么把戏？难道他打算用这套花言巧语把自己骗进契约里，然后再撕下伪装吗？

Something about it felt genuine, though. Seonghwa couldn’t put his finger on it, but the darkness in those eyes wasn’t scary. It was… warm, in a way. After being on the receiving end of cruelty for his entire life, he knew how to read people, and Hongjoong didn’t seem cruel. Dangerous, maybe, and intoxicating, but not cruel. 
但总感觉有那么一丝真诚。星化说不上来，但那双眼睛里的黑暗并不让人害怕。甚至… 有点温暖。他从小到大受尽了人情冷暖，看人很准，而弘中看起来并不残忍。也许危险，也许让人沉醉，但绝对不是残忍。

For a moment, neither of them said a word, and then the voice of the doctor who had accompanied Seonghwa to the house filled the entryway. “We will now proceed with this initial meeting,” she said, sounding entirely unbothered by the charged nature of their interaction. “Kim Hongjoong, where would you like for the rest of the meeting to take place?” 
一时间，两人都沉默不语，打破僵局的是陪同星河前来的那位医生的声音，她说道：“我们现在开始进行初步会面。” 她的语气听起来完全没有受到两人之间紧张气氛的影响。“金弘中，你希望接下来的会面在哪里进行？”

Only then did Hongjoong finally tear his gaze away from Seonghwa, looking at the woman standing beside him instead. “My bedroom will be fine,” he said, and something in his voice changed when he spoke to her. Still polite, but not as enchanting. “Follow after me. Yunho, thank you for answering the door, but you are already running late. Go.” 
直到这时，洪中才终于依依不舍地将目光从星和身上挪开，转而看向站在他身旁的那个女人。“我的卧室就行，”他对她说，语气和跟星和说话时判若两人。依旧礼貌，但少了那份蛊惑人心的魅力。“跟我来吧。允浩，谢谢你来开门，但你已经要迟到了。快走吧。”

Seonghwa turned to look at the vampire who had opened the door, a sheepish expression now on his face. “Yeah, I should go. It was nice to meet you, Seonghwa,” he said before leaving through the same door they had just entered through. He pulled it closed behind him, and that left only Seonghwa, Hongjoong, and the witness to their meeting. 
星和转头看向那位开门的吸血鬼，脸上带着一丝不好意思的表情。“是啊，我该走了。很高兴认识你，星和，”说完，他就从他们刚才进来的那扇门离开了。他随手关上了门，房间里只剩下星和、洪中，以及他们会面的见证者。

Hongjoong turned to lead them through the house, and Seonghwa followed after him, no longer looking to the doctor to guide him. As he stepped through the opening to his right and into the next room, he gasped slightly at the decoration. The styling was much the same as the other parts of the house, but this was some kind of living room, as plush velvet couches surrounded the steady flame of a fireplace. The couches were dark red in color, standing out stark compared to all of the black decor. A collection of tall white candles burned along the wall, wax dripping down the sides artfully.
洪仲转过身，领着他们穿过房子。星和紧随其后，不再指望医生带路。当他右脚迈过门口，踏入隔壁房间时，忍不住倒吸一口凉气，被里面的装饰惊艳到了。风格和房子的其他部分大同小异，但这里显然是起居室，毛茸茸的丝绒沙发环绕着壁炉里稳定的火焰。沙发是深红色的，与周围一片黑色装饰形成了鲜明对比。一排高高的白色蜡烛沿着墙壁燃烧，蜡油顺着边缘滴落，有一种说不出的艺术感。

To their left, a staircase led to the second floor, and Seonghwa followed Hongjoong when he turned in that direction. They passed by a grand piano, the sleek black surface reflecting the glow of the candles. The stairs were made from that same dark wood as the walls and floor, the railings black and polished as Seonghwa gently ran his palms over them. At the top of the stairs, Hongjoong waited for Seonghwa and the doctor to step onto the landing of the second floor before he made a left down the hallway. 
在他们左手边，楼梯通往二楼，洪仲走过去的时候，星化也跟着他。他们经过一架三角钢琴，光滑的黑色琴面映着烛光。楼梯和墙壁、地板一样，都是用那种深色木材制成的，黑色的栏杆被打磨得锃亮，星化轻轻地用手掌抚摸着。在楼梯顶端，洪仲停下来等着星化和医生踏上二楼的平台，然后左转走下走廊。

Several doors lined the walls as they walked, but he stopped at the first one on the right, twisting the knob to open it and reveal the room inside. Seonghwa wasn’t quite sure what to expect - did vampires really sleep in coffins, or was that just a myth? Would vampire bats be hanging from the ceiling, ready to swoop down at the first sign of an intruder? 
沿着走廊，几扇门依次排列在墙边，他停在右手边的第一扇门前，转动门把手打开门，露出了里面的房间。星化不太确定该期待什么——吸血鬼真的睡在棺材里吗，还是那只是个传说？会不会有蝙蝠倒挂在天花板上，准备在入侵者出现的第一个迹象时俯冲下来？

But when Hongjoong pushed open the door all the way, Seonghwa was relieved to find that his room looked much like any other bedroom, albeit holding true to the gothic style of the rest of the house. All of the furniture in the room was crafted from dark mahogany, and the frame of his bed was black and intricately detailed, much like the moldings and railings that Seonghwa had already seen. 
但当洪中将门完全推开时，星和松了一口气，发现他的房间看起来和其他卧室没什么两样，只不过依旧保持了这栋房子整体的哥特风格。房间里所有的家具都是用深色红木制作的，床的框架是黑色的，而且装饰得非常精致，就像星和已经见过的那些线条和栏杆一样。

Other than a few pieces of furniture, a wide window, and his bed, the room was spotless, giving nothing else away about the character of the vampire who lived within it. Seonghwa stepped inside when Hongjoong held the door for him, and he wasn’t quite sure where to go after that, so he stood there in the middle of the room and fought the urge to shuffle his feet. The doctor came inside as well, and then Hongjoong let go of the door, sealing the three of them inside. 
除了几件家具、一扇宽大的窗户和他的床，房间一尘不染，没有透露出更多关于住在这里的吸血鬼的性格。当洪中为他扶着门时，星和走了进去，但他不太确定接下来该做什么，所以他站在房间中央，努力克制住自己想蹭脚的冲动。医生也跟着进来了，然后洪中松开了门，把他们三个人都关在了里面。

Seonghwa wondered briefly if anything had ever gone wrong during these feeder meetings, if a vampire had ever attacked the two helpless humans once they were alone like this. But he doubted it, because from what he knew of human regulations for vampires, they were supposedly fierce; any vampire who did such a thing would be executed with little remorse. 
星化脑海中闪过一丝疑问，这种“投喂者”会面，以前出过什么岔子吗？有没有哪个吸血鬼，像现在这样，等两个手无寸铁的人类落单后，突然发难？但他随即否定了这个想法，毕竟，据他所知，人类对吸血鬼的管束非常严格，下手毫不留情；哪个吸血鬼敢这么做，肯定会被处决，绝不姑息。

A chill ran over Seonghwa’s skin as Hongjoong walked past him, their arms brushing as Hongjoong sat down on the edge of his bed, patting the open stretch of mattress beside him. “You may come sit, if you would like,” he offered, clearly speaking to Seonghwa. “Make yourself comfortable, please.”
鸿中从他身边走过时，星化感到一阵寒意掠过皮肤，两人的手臂轻轻擦过。鸿中在他床沿坐下，拍了拍身旁空着的一大片床垫。“如果你愿意，可以过来坐，” 鸿中显然是在对星化说话，“请随意，放松点。”

Turning to face Hongjoong fully, Seonghwa couldn’t bring himself to move from where he stood, his legs rooted into the ground. Something in his face must have shown that, for Hongjoong smiled, more gently this time. Unlike with Yunho, the tips of his fangs caught in the overhead lighting, dangerously sharp, a stark contrast to his expression. “Don’t be afraid,” he soothed. “I will not hurt you.” 
fully, Seonghwa couldn’t bring himself to move from where he stood, his legs rooted into the ground. Something in his face must have shown that, for Hongjoong smiled, more gently this time. Unlike with Yunho, the tips of his fangs caught in the overhead lighting, dangerously sharp, a stark contrast to his expression. “Don’t be afraid,” he soothed. “I will not hurt you.”

Swallowing thickly, Seonghwa finally snapped out of his trance and forced himself to shuffle forward, settling down gingerly beside Hongjoong on the bed. He was hyper aware of the vampire’s presence beside him, his heart racing within the confines of his chest. Hongjoong didn’t touch him, but Seonghwa could still feel the burn of his gaze as it swept over his skin, suddenly feeling exposed even with clothes obscuring the true form of his body. 
完全转过身，面对着弘中，星和却感觉自己像被钉在了原地，一步也挪不动。 也许是他的表情出卖了他，弘中微微一笑，这次的笑容更加温柔。和允浩不同，他嘴角露出的獠牙在灯光下闪着寒光，锋利得让人心惊，与他温柔的表情形成了鲜明的对比。“别怕，”他轻声安抚道，“我不会伤害你的。” 星和艰难地咽了口唾沫，终于从失神状态中挣脱出来，强迫自己往前挪动了几步，小心翼翼地在弘中身边的床上坐下。他能敏锐地感觉到吸血鬼就在身边，心脏在胸腔里砰砰直跳。弘中并没有碰他，但星和仍然能感觉到他灼热的目光扫过自己的皮肤，即使隔着衣服，也感觉自己像是被剥光了一样，无处遁形。

The doctor stepped in front of the two of them, clearing her throat, and Seonghwa looked up at her in an attempt to clear his mind. But still, Hongjoong’s gaze didn’t move away from him, even when the doctor began to speak. 
医生走到他们俩面前，清了清嗓子。星化抬起头看着她，试图让自己的思绪清醒一些。可洪中那眼神，就跟黏在他身上似的，医生都开始说话了，他还是没挪开。

“This meeting will hereby be conducted in full by the two interested parties, Park Seonghwa and Kim Hongjoong, with my mitigation where needed. The reason why we are here today is to conduct a test feed, and if both parties are satisfied with that, then we will move on to a negotiation of terms. Does that sound suitable to the two of you?” 
“这次会面，将完全由两位当事人，朴星化和金洪中自行进行，我会在必要时进行调解。今天我们聚在这里，是为了进行一次试喂，如果双方都对结果满意，那么我们将进入条款谈判阶段。两位觉得这样安排可以接受吗？”

Frozen, Seonghwa couldn’t bring himself to nod or shake his head, suddenly overwhelmed by the reality of this situation as he stared down at the floor. He was really about to let this vampire he had met a few minutes ago drink his blood. And if it went well, then could he really stand to be bound to this arrangement for years? He knew so little about vampires, about how they lived, and although Seonghwa’s life was terrible at least it was his own. 
星化僵住了，盯着地板，现实的冲击让他不知该点头还是摇头。他真的要让这个几分钟前才遇到的吸血鬼吸他的血吗？而且如果一切顺利，他真的能忍受未来几年都受制于这种安排吗？他对吸血鬼一无所知，对他们的生活方式也一窍不通。虽然星化的生活糟透了，但至少那是他自己的。

Finally, Hongjoong’s gaze moved away from Seonghwa’s face as he responded to the doctor, clearly noticing that Seonghwa was in no state to do so. “The feeding comes first, before the negotiation, correct?” he asked, and the doctor must have nodded, although Seonghwa wasn’t looking. “I do not wish to do it that way. He is clearly not comfortable - I refuse to feed from him like this. Allow me to… talk to him for a moment, first.” 
最终，弘中将目光从星化脸上移开，回应了医生。他显然注意到星化现在根本没法做决定。“先喂血，后谈判，对吧？”他问道。医生肯定点了点头，虽然星化并没有看。“我不想那样做。他明显不自在——我拒绝在这种情况下吸他的血。允许我和他…先谈谈。”

She didn’t say anything to that, but Hongjoong took that as permission anyway, turning to look at Seonghwa once more. Sucking in a shuddering breath, Seonghwa turned his head as well, his jaw uncomfortably tight as their eyes met. “You are scared,” Hongjoong said, something about his voice different when he spoke to Seonghwa. “I know you are. You do not need to lie to me.”
她没接话，但洪中觉得这就算默认了，又转头看向星和。星和倒吸一口气，也把头转了过来，下巴绷得紧紧的，两人的目光撞在了一起。“你很害怕，”洪中说道，对着星和说话时，他的声音听起来有些不一样。“我知道你害怕。你不用对我撒谎。”

Blinking a few times, Seonghwa nodded, for he saw no reason to attempt a lie when his fear was that obvious. “It’s not you,” he murmured, for clarity. “You’ve been… more pleasant than I expected. But I’ve never been in this situation before, that’s all.”
星和眨了几下眼，点了点头，因为他觉得在这种恐惧都写在脸上的情况下，撒谎也没什么意义。“不是因为你，”他低声解释道，想把话说清楚。“你…比我想象的要好得多。但我从来没遇到过这种情况，就只是这样而已。”

“My favorite color is red,” Hongjoong said, and Seonghwa frowned, momentarily drawn out of his nerves by the odd nature of the statement. Why did that matter right now? “And my favorite animal is a squirrel. I am… well, I will not tell you how old I am, actually, because that may scare you, but I was turned when I was twenty-six, so that is my eternal age. We have special seals on our windows for when the sun comes out, because we all have a bad habit of staying up well into the day and sleeping through half the night, me in particular. I am working on correcting that, but it is not really going well.”
“我最喜欢的颜色是红色，” 弘中说道，星化皱了皱眉，这没头没脑的一句话让他暂时从紧张的情绪中抽离出来。现在说这个干嘛？“我最喜欢的动物是松鼠。至于我的年龄嘛……这个嘛，我还是不说了，怕吓着你。不过我变成吸血鬼的时候是二十六岁，所以这就是我永恒的年龄。我们的窗户上都贴着特制的封条，为了挡太阳，因为我们都有个坏习惯，白天睡到日上三竿，晚上熬到半夜，尤其是我。我正在努力改掉这个毛病，但效果实在是不太理想。”

He stopped talking then, and the expression on his face when he looked at Seonghwa was almost… tender. That endless aura still exuded from his skin, but it didn’t necessarily correlate with his behavior. “Why did you tell me all of that?” Seonghwa asked, confused. “Is that, like… an important greeting for vampires, or something?”
然后，他突然住了嘴，看向星化的眼神，竟带着一丝…温柔。那种无尽的魅力依旧从他皮肤里散发出来，但和他的行为却不完全一致。 “你为什么跟我说这些？” 星化困惑地问，“这是…吸血鬼之间重要的见面礼，还是什么暗号？”

That drew a soft laugh out of Hongjoong, further exposing the full length of his fangs, and Seonghwa leaned back instinctively. His fangs took up the place of human upper canines, long and tapered into wicked sharp points. Seonghwa had never seen fangs up close like this, and Hongjoong’s laughter abruptly stopped when he noticed how Soenghwa had flinched away. 
这话引得弘中轻笑出声，让他那两颗尖牙完全显露出来，星化本能地向后靠了靠。他的尖牙取代了人类上犬齿的位置，又长又细，末端锋利得像一把小刀。星化从未如此近距离地观察过尖牙，而弘中注意到星化畏缩的动作，笑声戛然而止。

“Oh dear, I am sorry,” he said, his fangs hidden once more. “I was - I did not mean to scare you. I told you those things because I wanted you to know a bit more about me, to perhaps make you feel less nervous about this whole thing, but now you are scared anyway, so I suppose it did not work out so well. I am sorry, darling.” 
“哎呀，抱歉，” 他说道，獠牙又藏了起来。“我…我不是故意吓你的。跟你说这些，是想让你多了解我一点，或许能让你对现在的情况不那么紧张。结果你还是吓到了，看来效果不太好。对不起，宝贝儿。”

Darling. Now when Seonghwa shivered, it was for a different reason, that name curling around him like an invisible blanket. No one had ever used a term like that towards him before. He was used to rude names, the regular taunts and jabs that had been thrown his way daily for as long as he could remember, and his fear stagnated now in response to that word, the affectionate tone with which it had been spoken. 
宝贝儿。星化这下打了个寒颤，却是因为完全不同的理由。这个称呼像一条无形的毯子一样缠绕着他。从来没有人这样称呼过他。他早就习惯了那些粗鲁的称谓，那些从他记事起就每天朝他扔过来的嘲讽和挖苦。现在，听到这个词，以及其中包含的爱怜语气，他的恐惧反而停滞了。

For humans, being afraid of vampires was oftentimes the norm, but in the few minutes he had known Hongjoong, the man had already been kinder to him than any human. That had to stand for something, and he felt some of his fear wash away, his muscles not quite so stiff now. “It’s okay,” he said, and his voice was a bit louder now, more full. “I’m a little scared, but you seem… nice. For now, at least.” 
对人类来说，害怕吸血鬼是常态。但仅仅认识洪仲几分钟，他就已经比任何人类都要友善。这肯定说明了些什么，星化感觉恐惧消退了一些，肌肉也不再那么僵硬。“没事，”他说，声音比刚才大了些，也更有底气，“我有点害怕，但你看起来……挺好的。至少现在是。”

“For now?” Hongjoong hummed, not entirely satisfied with this. “Give me a little time, and you will see. I will never be anything but nice to you.”
“至少现在？” 洪仲哼了一声，对这个说法不太满意。“给我点时间，你会看到的。我对你永远都会很好。”

The corners of Seonghwa’s mouth twitched at that, and he nodded. “Alright,” he said, forgetting entirely that the two of them weren’t alone. Some kind of energy existed between the two of them, and Seonghwa couldn’t quite place his finger on it, but he had never felt this way around someone before. “I’ll hold you to that.” 
星化嘴角抽动了一下，点了点头。“好吧，”他说，完全忘了他们俩不是独处。他们之间存在着某种能量，星化说不清那是什么，但他以前从未在别人身边感受到这种感觉。“我可记住你这句话了。”

“I would not expect anything less. I have always been drawn to beautiful things; I have a collection of antique jewelry, and I designed most of this place myself, that sort of thing. So I am afraid that I will likely be vying for your affections for a long time to come. If you agree for us to be bound together by that contract, that is.” The words fell easily from Hongjoong’s tongue, and Seonghwa processed their meaning a bit late, too busy staring at Hongjoong’s mouth as it moved. 
“我就知道你会这么说。我向来对美好的事物情有独钟；我收藏了不少古董珠宝，这地方的大部分设计都是我亲自操刀，诸如此类的。所以，恐怕在未来的日子里，我会一直努力争取你的爱意。当然，前提是你同意用那份契约将我们绑在一起。”洪中云淡风轻地说着，盛华却慢了半拍才反应过来，刚才他光顾着盯着洪中那张喋喋不休的嘴看了。

“My - my affections?” he asked, eyes widening. “But, um, that’s illegal.” He cast a glance towards the doctor, who was watching the two of them with evident disinterest. Had Hongjoong intended to call him beautiful, as well? Seonghwa struggled to make sense of the riddles held within Hongjoong’s words, and he wondered if all vampires were so elusive, so enchanting. 
“我的…爱意？”他瞪大了眼睛，问道，“可是，呃，这可是违法的。”他瞥了一眼医生，医生正兴致缺缺地看着他们俩。难道洪中也想夸他漂亮吗？盛华绞尽脑汁也无法理解洪中话里隐藏的玄机，他想知道是不是所有的吸血鬼都这么难以捉摸，这么令人着迷。

He found it hard to believe that anyone could be as enthralling as the man beside him. 
他简直难以相信，世上竟有人能像身边的这个男人一样，如此令人神魂颠倒。

The ice cold pad of a finger pressed beneath Seonghwa’s chin, raising his gaze from Hongjoong’s mouth to his eyes, the first real contact between the two of them. “Oh, who is to say what kind of affections I am referring to?” he countered, and although his skin was cold, his touch still burned. “Plus, you do not strike me as such a rule follower, anyway.” He winked before dropping his hand, and Seonghwa sucked in a sharp inhale, heart hammering. 
一根冰凉的手指压在了星化的下巴上，抬起他的视线，从弘中的嘴唇移到他的眼睛，这是他们之间第一次真正的接触。“哦？谁又能说我指的是哪种爱慕之情呢？”他反问道。他的皮肤冰冷，但触碰却带着灼热。“而且，你看上去也不像个会循规蹈矩的人。” 他眨了眨眼，然后放下了手。星化倒吸一口凉气，心脏怦怦直跳。

How could he say something like that so openly, when the two of them weren’t alone? Humans and vampires had been historically punished for infractions to the regulation that forbade any romantic or sexual relations between species, and while flirting alone wasn’t enough to get them in trouble, they had only just met. If Hongjoong was this forward now, how would he behave in a few months’ time? 
他怎么能这么直白地说出这种话，而且还是在有旁人的情况下？人族和血族之间，向来严禁任何形式的恋爱或性关系，违者必究。虽然只是调情还不至于惹上大麻烦，可他们明明才刚认识啊。现在洪仲就这么露骨，几个月后还不得上天？

Coughing lightly into his fist, Seonghwa struggled to find something to say to that, his pulse pounding in his ears. “Why did you choose to meet me?” he asked, recalling what the doctor had told him earlier, how Hongjoong had never shown interest in any other feeder before. “I’m nothing special.”
星化轻咳一声，掩饰着内心的慌乱，努力想找些话来回应，心跳却不受控制地加速。“你为什么会选择见我？”他问道，想起医生之前说过的话，洪仲以前对任何供血者都不感兴趣。“我没什么特别的。”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Hongjoong commented, the traces of his accent clinging to his words. “And you happen to suit my tastes, Park Seonghwa.”
“情人眼里出西施嘛，” 洪仲慢悠悠地说道，带着一丝不易察觉的口音。“而你，朴星化，恰好合我的胃口。”

Seonghwa looked down at his lap quickly to hide the blush that spread over his cheeks, although he was sure Hongjoong had seen it anyway. He didn’t think he would ever grow tired of hearing Hongjoong say his name like that. “What is it like?” he asked next, hoping to at least assuage some of his remaining fear by knowing what to expect. “When a vampire, um, feeds from a human, I mean. What is that like?” 
星化飞快地瞥了眼自己的腿，想藏住那抹爬上脸颊的红晕，但他敢肯定洪中肯定已经看到了。他想，这辈子大概都不会听腻洪中那样叫他的名字。 “感觉怎么样？” 接着他问道，希望能多少减轻一些残余的恐惧，至少让他知道会发生什么。“吸血鬼，嗯，从人身上吸血的时候，我是说，那感觉是什么样的？”

“Ah.” Hongjoong seemed to consider the question for a moment before giving his response, his voice a bit more earnest now. “I have not fed on a human in a long time, and it has been a long time since I was a human myself, but it will not be painful for you. When my fangs first enter your neck it may hurt for a second, but it will not last. Vampire saliva possesses a compound that acts like a drug, which stimulates the release of dopamine within the human brain, making the experience pleasurable for both parties. For a full length feed, you will need up to an hour for the drug to wear off, but the feed today will be quite short. So there is no need for you to be afraid, okay? I will take care of you.” 
“啊……” 弘中听了这话，像是认真思考了一会儿，语气也变得诚恳起来。“我已经很久没有吸食人血了，而且距离我还是人类的时候，也已经过去太久太久了。不过你不用担心，不会疼的。我的獠牙刺入你脖子的那一瞬间，可能会有点刺痛，但也就一瞬间。我的唾液里含有一种特殊的成分，它就像一种药物，能刺激人类大脑释放多巴胺，让双方都感到愉悦。如果长时间吸食，药效最多需要一个小时才能消退，但今天只是浅尝辄止，时间很短。所以，你完全没有必要害怕，好吗？我会好好照顾你的。”

Those last words warmed Seonghwa’s heart, because he could feel that they were genuine. He had been lied to so often in his life: at the orphanage when people would lie to him about adoption before never coming back, at interviews, every time he had tried to even just to make a friend. But something told him that Hongjoong wasn’t lying, a feeling deep in his chest, and some of the tension bled from his frame at last. 
圣华听了这话，心里暖暖的，因为他能感觉到洪中是真心实意的。他这辈子听过的谎话太多了：在孤儿院里，那些人说着要领养他，结果却再也没回来；在面试的时候，他们也净是骗人的鬼话；每一次，他只是想交个朋友，结果遇到的全是谎言。但不知怎么的，他心里有个声音告诉他，洪中没有撒谎，这感觉是从心底涌出来的，他紧绷的身体这才终于放松了一些。

“Okay,” he said softly, sucking in a breath before nodding. “I think - I think I feel better about it, now. Thank you. But, um, I don’t do well around blood. So if you could….” 
“好吧，”他轻声说道，深吸一口气，然后点了点头。“我想……我想我现在感觉好多了。谢谢你。但是，嗯，我不喜欢看到血。所以，如果你能……。”

Hongjoong smiled, although he kept his lips closed to avoid revealing his fangs this time. “You will not see any blood. It is a neat process,” he replied, waiting for Seonghwa to nod before looking to the doctor. “Sorry about that. We may proceed, now.” 
洪中笑了笑，不过这次他紧闭着嘴唇，没让獠牙露出来。“你不会看到任何血迹的。这个过程很干净利落，”他回答道，等着圣华点头，然后才看向医生。“不好意思。我们现在可以开始了。”

She appeared rather annoyed by this entire thing, not concerned whatsoever with Seonghwa’s comfort, and he found that he actually felt more content in Hongjoong’s presence than hers, regardless of his identity as a vampire. Humans were capable of cruelty of their own, after all, and Hongjoong had shown him none of that thus far. 
她看起来对整件事相当恼火，压根没把星化的感受放在心上。星化反倒觉得，跟洪仲在一起更自在些，哪怕他是个吸血鬼。毕竟，人类作恶起来，那也是毫不手软的。而洪仲，至少到目前为止，还没对他展露出任何恶意。

“First, we will proceed with the feeding,” she said again, looking over the top of her glasses to fix Seonghwa with an unimpressed look. “Unless you need more time, that is. I believe it was clear from the start why you agreed to come here. You were aware of what the meeting would entail.” 
“首先，我们要开始‘进食’了。”她再次开口，镜片后的目光越过上方，带着一丝毫不以为然的神情锁定星化，“除非你需要更多时间，那另当别论。我想一开始就说清楚了，你同意来这儿的目的。你应该清楚这次会面会包含什么。”

Flushing under the comment, Seonghwa nodded. “I was, I’m sorry-”
被她这么一说，星化涨红了脸，点了点头。“我是清楚的，对不起……”

“Do not speak to him like that,” Hongjoong interrupted, and for the briefest of moments, Seonghwa understood why he was the leader of this coven, why he was so notorious. His voice changed completely, chilling the air in the room. “You are supposed to be useful, are you not? Because I think this entire meeting would progress with considerably more ease if you were not here at all.” 
“不许那样跟他说话，” 洪仲打断道，那一瞬间，星和终于明白了他为什么是这个巫师团的首领，为什么如此声名狼藉。他的声音完全变了，让房间里的空气都冷了下来。“你应该还有点用处吧？因为我觉得，如果没有你在这里，整个会议会顺利得多。”

Seonghwa bit back a sound, something between a gasp and a laugh, watching as her expression hardened even further, if that were even possible. “If you want this contract officiated, I have to be here,” she replied coldly. “Do not test me, or I won’t sign it.” 
星和咬紧牙关，硬生生憋住了一声介于惊呼和嗤笑之间的声音，看着她的表情变得更加僵硬，如果这还可能的话。“如果你们想让这份合同生效，我就必须在这里，”她冷冷地回答。“别试探我的底线，否则我不会签字的。”

“Do not be rude to him, then,” Hongjoong countered, eyes flashing. “That is not such an outlandish request on my part, in my opinion. What do you think, Seonghwa?” 
“那就别对他无礼，” 洪仲反驳道，眼中闪过一丝锐利的光芒。“依我看，这并不是什么过分的要求。你觉得呢，星和？”

With both pairs of eyes on him, Seonghwa could have cowered, but he wasn’t quite as helpless as the world often wanted him to be. Instead, he looked right back at her, strengthened by the knowledge that he wasn’t alone. “I think that you have an obligation to make both parties feel comfortable in this situation,” he said innocently, although the underlying threat in his words was obvious. “So I don’t think that the two of us have done anything wrong, and you would have no reason to not sign a contract if we decide on one.” 
在两双眼睛的注视下，星化本可以畏缩，但他可没世人以为的那么无助。相反，他直视着她，因为他知道自己并非孤身一人，这给了他力量。“我认为你有义务让双方在这种情况下都感到舒服，”他天真地说，尽管话语中暗含的威胁显而易见。“所以我不认为我们俩做错了什么，如果我们决定签合同，你没有任何理由不签。”

The look that Hongjoong gave him then was different - appraising, almost, like he hadn’t expected Seonghwa to be so outspoken. Something about that made Seonghwa feel a bit more confident, the knowledge that he could still surprise the leader of this coven, who had undoubtedly been around for a very long time. 
洪仲基那时给他的眼神有些不一样——带着审视，几乎就像没料到星化会这么直言不讳。某种程度上，这让星化感觉更加自信，他意识到自己仍然能给这个法师团的首领带来意外，而这位首领无疑已经存在了很长时间。

For a moment, no one said a word, until the doctor changed the subject completely. “Please proceed with the feeding,” she said stiffly, all of her irritation held behind her glasses. “Keep it under a minute in length, for the safety of the human.” 
一时间，大家都沉默不语，直到医生生硬地转移了话题。“继续喂食吧，”她语气僵硬地说，所有的不悦都藏在了镜片后，“为了人类的安全，时间控制在一分钟以内。”

Seonghwa turned to face Hongjoong, now hyper aware of where his pulse thrummed at the base of his jaw. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do, and when Hongjoong reached out to cup his jaw, he flinched. “You will be okay,” Hongjoong soothed, his voice gentle. “Just relax. It will not hurt, I promise.” 
星化转过身，面对弘中，此刻他无比清晰地感受到下颌线处脉搏的跳动。他不知道自己该做什么，当弘中伸手托住他的下巴时，他忍不住瑟缩了一下。“你会没事的，”弘中轻声安抚，语气温柔，“放松点，不会疼的，我保证。”

He used his other hand to brush the hair away from the other side of Seonghwa’s neck, and for a moment he paused, fixated on the skin there. “What is this?” he asked, the question no louder than a whisper. “Did something happen to you?” 
弘中用另一只手拂开星化脖颈另一侧的头发，停顿了片刻，目光专注地凝视着那里的皮肤。“这是什么？”他低声问道，声音轻得像耳语，“你发生什么事了吗？”

He was referring to the scars, of course, and Seonghwa rolled his lips together before shaking his head. “It’s nothing,” he said, although his words meant little when the curve of his neck was exposed like this. Small puncture scars dotted the skin on both sides of his neck, evidence of the places where fangs had pierced his skin long ago. “Happened when I was a baby. I don’t even remember it.” 
他当然指的是那些伤疤，星化抿了抿嘴，摇了摇头。“没事，”他说，但当他颈部的曲线这样暴露出来的时候，他的话显得苍白无力。他脖子两侧的皮肤上点缀着细小的穿刺伤疤，那是很久以前獠牙刺破他皮肤的证据。“小时候发生的。我都不记得了。”

If anything, Hongjoong appeared even more horrified by that clarification, and he pulled his hands back to break their contact. “I am so sorry,” he breathed, stricken. “If you are not comfortable with this, then-”
如果说有什么变化的话，那就是洪仲对这个解释显得更加震惊了，他抽回了手，结束了他们的接触。“我很抱歉，”他喘息着，神情痛苦。“如果你觉得不舒服，那就……”

“It’s okay,” Seonghwa interrupted, forcing a slight smile to curve his lips. “Like I said, I don’t remember it. Just, um, please be gentle. That’s all I ask.”
“没关系，”星化打断了他，强迫自己露出一个微笑。“就像我说的，我不记得了。只是，嗯，请温柔一点。我只求这个。”

“Of course I will be gentle,” Hongjoong replied, and after a lingering pause he reached for Seonghwa’s neck again, although his movements were more hesitant this time. Seonghwa could sense that he wanted to know more, but that he wouldn’t ask right now, which he appreciated. “And please, tell me if you need me to stop.” 
“当然，我会温柔的，” 弘中回答道，停顿了好一会儿，他又一次伸出手，摸向星化的脖颈，不过这次他的动作明显迟疑了许多。星化能感觉到弘中想知道更多，但他现在不会问出口，这让星化很感激。“还有，如果你需要我停下来，一定要告诉我。”

Seonghwa nodded, and he tilted his head to the side when Hongjoong’s hand nudged him in that direction, exposing the left side of his neck more fully. Again Hongjoong swept locks of Seonghwa’s hair away from the area, chills spreading over Seonghwa’s skin where those cold fingers touched. 
星化点了点头，当弘中的手轻轻碰了他一下，示意他把头偏向一边时，他便顺从地照做了，更加充分地露出了左侧的脖颈。弘中再次将星化额前的碎发撩开，那些冰凉的手指所触及之处，星化感受到一阵阵的寒意蔓延开来。

When Hongjoong leaned closer, Seonghwa forced himself not to stiffen, his nerves set alight by every sensation around him. The feeling of Hongjoong’s hands on his neck, the soft gust of breath that brushed over the hollow of his throat, the rapid pace of his own pulse. He was sure that Hongjoong could sense how nervous he was, for he was being incredibly gentle and moving slowly, allowing Seonghwa all the time he needed to prepare. 
洪仲基凑近时，星化强迫自己别僵住，周围的一切都像火星一样点燃了他的神经。洪仲基的手抚上他脖颈的感觉，轻柔的呼吸拂过他喉结凹陷处，还有他自己快得吓人的心跳……他肯定洪仲基能感觉到他有多紧张，因为对方动作极其温柔，放慢了速度，给了星化足够的时间来准备。

“You can do it now,” he whispered, Hongjoong’s face hovering a breath’s distance away from his neck. “I’m ready.” 
“你现在可以开始了，” 洪仲基在他耳边低语，两人的脸庞近在咫尺，呼吸交织。“我准备好了。”

Hongjoong hummed softly, and then Seonghwa felt the first prick of his fangs as they touched his skin, piercing through the flesh. It hurt at first, but not as bad as he had expected; the same kind of pinch that accompanied a shot at the doctor’s office, or the needle that entered the crook of the elbow to draw blood. 
洪仲基轻声哼了一声，然后星化就感觉到他的獠牙第一次触碰到了他的皮肤，刺穿了血肉。一开始有点疼，但并没有他想象的那么难受；就像在医生那里打针时那一下刺痛，或者是在手肘弯处抽血时针头扎进去的感觉。

Within seconds, all traces of pain were gone, and an odd feeling washed over Seonghwa instead. Not a bad one - it was exceedingly pleasant, making his mind swim as all of the remaining tension bled from his bones. Without even realizing it, he slumped against Hongjoong, who had already shifted his arms to support Seonghwa’s body. 
几秒钟内，痛苦的痕迹消失得无影无踪，取而代之的是一股奇妙的感觉，这感觉瞬间就席卷了星化。并非糟糕的那种——而是极其愉悦，舒服得让他头脑发晕，仿佛所有残余的紧张感都从骨头缝里一点点地流逝。他甚至都没意识到，自己已经完全靠在了弘中的身上，而弘中也早已调整了手臂的姿势，稳稳地托住了星化的身体。

The warmth of his mouth against Seonghwa’s neck was dizzying, and Seonghwa was able to feel each pull of blood drawn from the punctures in his neck, but it didn’t hurt at all. He had never felt anything like this before, and when Hongjoong’s fangs pulled out of his neck a few moments later, he couldn’t believe that a minute had gone by so quickly. 
他的嘴唇在星化脖颈间游走带来的温热感，简直让人晕眩。星化能清晰地感觉到血液从脖子上的小孔中被抽走，但一点也不疼。他从未有过这样的体验。当弘中的獠牙几分钟后从他脖子上拔出时，他简直不敢相信时间居然过得这么快。

He blinked groggily, unable to support himself fully as Hongjoong licked over the twin wounds in his neck a few times. “That will heal the skin within a few minutes,” he explained once he was done. “You will never have any scars from me, I promise.” 
他惺忪地眨着眼，全身无力，几乎站不稳。洪中在他脖颈上的两个伤口处轻舔了几下。“这样能在几分钟内愈合皮肤，”他完事后解释道，“我保证，你身上永远不会留下我的痕迹。”

Seonghwa tipped his head back to look at Hongjoong, his lips parted as he fumbled to form words, dazed from the drug that Hongjoong’s saliva carried. “That wasn’t so bad,” he slurred, and Hongjoong smiled at him, his eyes soft. “It didn’ hurt.”
星化仰起头，望着洪中，嘴唇微张，含糊不清地想要说些什么，显然是被洪中唾液中的药物弄得有些迷糊。“其实也没那么糟，”他含糊地说着，洪中闻言对他露出一个温柔的笑容。“一点也不疼。”

“I told you it would not hurt,” he reminded, brushing the hair back from Seonghwa’s face, supporting him with an arm around his waist. “You will feel normal in a minute, I promise.” 
“我早就说过不会疼的，”洪中提醒道，一边温柔地将星化额前的碎发拨开，一手揽着他的腰，支撑着他。“再过一分钟，你就会感觉恢复正常了，我保证。”

“Mm, I like the way I feel right now,” Seonghwa said, and Hongjoong let out a quiet laugh. “Will you always be nice to me like that? When you feed from me?” 
“嗯……我喜欢现在这种感觉，”星化喃喃道，洪中忍不住轻笑出声。“你每次吸我的血，都会对我这么温柔吗？”

Hongjoong’s smile faded then, and he cupped Seonghwa’s cheek with his palm, the touch so gentle that it almost brought tears to Seonghwa’s eyes. In a vulnerable state like this, he couldn’t maintain his usual walls quite as well, and his body had always yearned for the kind of touch that Hongjoong seemed more than willing to provide. If this arrangement worked out, it might benefit him in more ways than just the monthly checks. “You do not have to worry about that. I will never hurt you.” 
弘中脸上的笑容渐渐褪去，然后他用手掌轻轻地捧住星化的脸颊，那份温柔简直要让星化落泪。在这种脆弱的状态下，他没法像平时那样筑起高墙，而他的身体一直渴望着弘中似乎很乐意给予的那种触碰。如果这份协议真能顺利进行，或许他能得到的，远不止那每月的支票。“你不用担心这个，” 弘中轻声说道，“我永远不会伤害你。”

At first, Seonghwa hadn’t been sure how trustworthy a vampire could possibly be, but as he started to come back to himself he found that he believed Hongjoong’s assurances. The fear that had built inside of him ever since he had first applied to be a feeder had now dissipated almost entirely, because this entire experience had proven to be completely different from what he had expected. 
起初，星化并不确定吸血鬼的话到底有几分可信。但渐渐回过神来后，他发现自己竟然相信了弘中的保证。自从他申请成为供血者以来，内心深处就一直积压着恐惧。但此刻，恐惧几乎已经消散殆尽，因为这整个过程，都和他想象的截然不同。

Maybe this arrangement wouldn’t be so bad after all. 
也许这种安排... 也没那么糟糕，不是吗？

He was able to sit up on his own now, and he pulled away from Hongjoong’s contact reluctantly, his body already missing it as soon as it was gone. “Sorry about that,” he said, tone sheepish. “I feel more, um, normal now.”
他现在已经可以自己坐起来了，依依不舍地离开了弘中的接触，身体立刻就想念那种感觉。 “抱歉，”他说，语气带着几分腼腆。“我现在感觉更，嗯，正常了。”

“Do not apologize,” Hongjoong replied, and he kept their legs pressed together when Seonghwa didn’t move any further away. “It’s normal for that to happen. And if it comforts you to know, as long as you want to move forward with this whole arrangement, I would never leave you after a feeding until you are fully coherent again.” 
“别道歉，”弘中回答，当星化没有进一步远离时，他仍然让他们的腿紧紧地靠在一起。“发生这种事很正常。而且，如果这能让你感到安慰，只要你想继续进行这种安排，我永远不会在你进食后离开你，直到你完全恢复理智。”

Seonghwa nodded. “Thanks.” He was surprised that Hongjoong was still interested in moving forward, for he had half assumed that at the taste of his blood the vampire would realize that Seonghwa wasn’t actually medically qualified to donate, but perhaps he had been right all along - perhaps all blood was the same to them. He chose not to mention it, for fear of the doctor dissolving the meeting. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’m okay with, um, talking about the contract, if you still want to.” 
星化点点头。“谢了。”洪中居然还有兴趣继续，这让他有点意外。他都以为那吸血鬼尝了他的血，就会发现他星化根本不具备献血的医学资质。但也许他一直都想对了——也许对他们来说，所有的血都一样。他选择不提这件事，生怕医生直接结束会面。“没我想的那么糟糕。如果你还想继续，我，嗯，可以和你谈谈合同的事。”

“You heard him,” Hongjoong said, looking towards the doctor now, brows raised slightly. “Shall we continue?” 
“你听到了，”洪中说着，看向医生，微微挑眉。“我们继续？”

With her jaw tight, she nodded, pulling a folder out of the messenger bag she had brought with her from the blood bank. “Very well,” she agreed, flipping through a few pages before pulling out a thick bundle of papers, bound together by a black binder clip at the top. “There are a few critical points of the contract that must be negotiated between the two of you before any kind of arrangement can be settled upon. The first of these concerns the period of time in which this contract will be eligible. What preferences do each of you hold?” 
她紧咬着牙，点了点头，从她从血库带来的邮差包里拿出一个文件夹。“好吧，”她同意道，翻了几页，然后抽出一叠厚厚的纸，顶部用一个黑色长尾夹夹在一起。“在达成任何协议之前，你们两人之间必须就合同中的几个关键点进行协商。首先是关于本合同的有效期。你们各自有什么偏好？”

Fully expecting Hongjoong to take the lead, Seonghwa didn’t bother to give a response until he felt both pairs of eyes in the room shift towards him. “Your preference is my preference,” Hongjoong said, surprising Seonghwa once again. “I have no desire to force you into a contract that you are not comfortable with.” 
完全预料到洪中会带头，星化懒得回应，直到他感觉到房间里两双眼睛都转向他。“你的偏好就是我的偏好，”洪中说，再次让星化感到惊讶。“我不想强迫你签订一份你不舒服的合同。”

Considering this, Seonghwa chewed at the inside of his cheek, unsure of what a suitable amount of time would be. He didn’t want to sign his life away, but he also didn’t want to have to go through this whole reevaluation process again so soon. “How long are most contracts to start?” Seonghwa asked the doctor, looking for some kind of baseline from which to base his decision.
想到这里，星化咬了咬腮帮子，心里也没谱，到底签多久才算合适。他可不想把自己卖了，但也不想这么快就得重新来一遍评估。 “一般来说，合同都是签多久起步啊？” 星化问医生，想找个基准，好有个参考。

“Typically no shorter than two years, but sometimes an initial contract can extend past ten years in length, depending on the wishes of the vampire. Kim Hongjoong, it may do you well to remember how small of a blip in time that a year or two is in the grand scheme of your lifetime. A longer contract may be more desirable for you.”
“通常来说，最短也得两年，但有时候，初次合同也能签到十年以上，这取决于吸血鬼的意愿。 金弘中，你最好记住，一两年在你的漫长生命中，不过是沧海一粟。签长一点的合同，对你来说可能更划算。”

But Hongjoong shook his head, not interested in her reminder. “We can always sign a new contract if we both wish to. I refuse to be like the rest of my kind, who treat their feeders like dirt.” That was all he said, but his words carried enough emphasis to silence the doctor, who looked to Seonghwa once more for an answer. 
洪仲基摇了摇头，对她那番提醒毫无兴趣。“如果我们都愿意，随时可以签新合同。我才不想和那些家伙一样，把自己的‘饲主’当成泥土一样践踏。” 他就说了这么一句，但语气中的分量足以让医生闭嘴，她再次看向星化，寻求他的答案。

“How about… a year?” he asked, even though that was a shorter span of time than she had mentioned at the low end of her range. “I think I would be okay with a year.” 
“要不…一年？” 他问道，尽管这比她刚才说的最短期限还要短。“我想一年的话，我应该可以接受。”

“A year, then,” Hongjoong agreed, and she leaned the contract on her folder to write their request into place. Seonghwa shared a look with Hongjoong, and the warmth in his expression was impossible to miss. 
“那就一年，” 洪仲基同意了，医生便把合同靠在文件夹上，把他们的要求写了上去。星化和洪仲基交换了一个眼神，他眼神中的暖意，简直让人无法忽略。

Once the doctor finished filling in that portion of the contract, she moved onto the next part. “Now we will discuss living conditions. It is customary for a feeder to live in the coven house of the vampire they are bound to, in order for the feeder to provide a constant supply of blood when needed. Is this a suitable arrangement for the two of you? And if it is, then where will Seonghwa be sleeping, Hongjoong?” 
医生填完合同的那部分后，接着往下看。“现在我们来讨论居住条件。通常来说，血仆会住在所效忠的吸血鬼家族的宅邸里，这样才能随时提供血液。这个安排对你们两个来说合适吗？如果合适的话，星和要睡在哪里呢，洪中？”

“It’s suitable,” Seonghwa blurted quickly, not so eager to share the truth about his current lack of living conditions. “I’m fine with that.” 
“合适！”星和飞快地抢着回答，实在是不想让人知道他现在还没个落脚的地方。“我没问题。”

After a momentary pause, Hongjoong nodded. “Alright, yes. There are plenty of extra rooms in this house, so Seonghwa will be able to sleep in one of those.” 
洪中停顿了一下，然后点了点头。“好吧，可以。房子里空房间多得很，星和随便挑一间睡就行了。”

The doctor wrote that into the contract as well, and then she continued to proceed with the rest of the terms. Much to Seonghwa’s relief, Hongjoong looked to him for most of the answers, allowing him to set their agreement to match his own preferences. The entire process wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Seonghwa had expected it to be, and by the time the contract was finished, he didn’t feel as nervous to sign it as he had anticipated. 
医生也把那条写进了合同里，然后继续处理剩下的条款。让星和松了一口气的是，洪仲大部分时候都看着他寻求答案，这让他能按照自己的喜好来制定协议。整个过程远没有星和预想的那么吓人，等到合同拟定完成的时候，他签字的紧张感也比预期的要少。

Hongjoong signed first, and then he passed it to Seonghwa, who looked down at the space for his signature for a moment before pressing the pen to the paper. He signed his name, and then he handed it to the doctor, who looked over their signatures before nodding once and returning the contract to her folder. 
洪仲先签了字，然后把合同递给了星和。星和看着那个让他签字的地方，犹豫了一下，才把笔按在了纸上。他签下了自己的名字，然后递给医生。医生检查了一下他们的签名，点了点头，就把合同放回了文件夹里。

“This contract will remain as the active one on file until the one year period of your arrangement comes to an end, in which case you will have an option to terminate, renegotiate, or simply re-sign the same terms. In the meantime, you are both bound to the terms that you both signed off on, and any potential conflict that may arise will be settled by an examination of the conditions that you both agreed upon. Understood?” 
“这份合约会一直有效，直到你们为期一年的协议期满。到时候，你可以选择终止、重新协商，或者干脆续签同样的条款。在这期间，你们双方都必须遵守签署的条款。如果出现任何潜在的冲突，都将通过审查你们双方同意的条件来解决。明白了吗？”

They both nodded, and she returned the folder to her bag, marking the end of the meeting. “That is all for now, then. Park Seonghwa, you will begin your year long term as a feeder tomorrow at sundown, when you will move your belongings into this house and live here as per the terms. You have means of transporting yourself here, I assume?” 
他们都点了点头，她把文件夹放回包里，标志着会议的结束。“那今天就到这里吧。朴星化，你将从明天日落时分开始你为期一年的‘供养者’生涯，届时你需要把你的东西搬到这栋房子里，按照条款住在这里。你有办法自己过来吧？”

Blushing slightly, Seonghwa nodded. He would drive himself and all of his belongings here tomorrow, then, and he would finally have a bed to sleep in, and a monthly income of his own for him to use to buy any kind of food he wanted, all the way until next September. The mere thought of that made his stomach rumble, his blush deepening at the sound. 
星化微微泛红了脸，点了点头。也就是说，明天他就能自己开车，把所有家当都搬过来，终于能有张床好好睡觉了，而且每个月还能有自己的收入，想吃什么就买什么，一直到明年九月！光是想想，肚子就不争气地咕咕叫了起来，这让他更加不好意思了。

With the meeting officially over, Seonghwa stood from Hongjoong’s bed at last, swaying on his feet for a moment as his vision darkened. He really needed to eat something soon, and he blinked a few times to ground himself once more. Hongjoong stood up as well, looking at him with poorly disguised concern. “Are you alright?” he asked, and Seonghwa nodded. 
会议正式结束，星化终于从弘中的床上站了起来，眼前一黑，脚步都有些虚浮。他真的得赶紧吃点东西了，眨了几下眼，才让自己重新稳住。弘中也跟着站起身，眼神里藏不住的担忧。“你没事吧？”他问道，星化点了点头。

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, offering no further explanation, for he was embarrassed about the current state of his life as he stood here in this three story house, worth more than Seonghwa could ever dream of owning. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, then.” 
“嗯，我没事，” 他含糊地应道，没打算多做解释。站在这栋三层楼的豪宅里，这房子值多少钱，成华连做梦都不敢想。想到自己现在的窘境，实在让他有些难堪。“那……明晚见咯。”

Hongjoong smiled softly, nodding once. “I will be eagerly awaiting your return,” he murmured, extending his hand with his palm facing the ceiling. After a moment of hesitation, Seonghwa placed his hand gingerly in Hongjoong’s colder one, and he shivered when Hongjoong raised their joined hands to his mouth and pressed his lips to Seonghwa’s skin, right above his knuckles. “It has been a pleasure to meet you, Seonghwa. I look forward to getting to know you further.” 
洪仲柔和地笑了笑，轻轻点了一下头。“我会翘首以盼，等你回来，” 他低声说道，同时伸出手，掌心朝上。成华犹豫了一下，小心翼翼地将自己的手放在洪仲冰凉的手中。洪仲将两人相握的手举到唇边，在他的指关节上方，轻轻落下一吻。成华忍不住打了个寒颤。“认识你很高兴，成华。我期待着更深入地了解你。”

Cheeks burning, Seonghwa nodded, his skin tingling where Hongjoong’s lips had touched his hand. “Me too,” he replied, and when Hongjoong dropped his hand, his nerves immediately cried out at the loss of contact. Seonghwa wasn’t used to being touched with such care, and now that he had experienced it once, he wouldn’t be able to forget it. He hoped that Hongjoong would remain this attentive through the entire first year of their arrangement. 
盛 hardware 脸颊发烫，点了点头。刚刚洪中亲吻他手背的地方，皮肤还残留着酥麻的感觉。“我也是”，他回答道。洪中放开他的手时，他感觉神经末梢都在抗议，舍不得那份触碰。成华不太习惯被人如此温柔地对待，一旦体验过，就再也无法忘记了。他希望在他们“契约”的第一年里，洪中都能保持这份体贴入微。

The three of them left Hongjoong’s bedroom, and Hongjoong led them to the front door once more, winding through the beautifully decorated rooms of the house. Seonghwa couldn’t quite fathom that he was going to be living here permanently, that this would become something of a new home for him in the coming weeks. He had never lived in a space this large; even in his apartment, the room he had rented was the size of a closet. At the orphanage, he had shared a room with a bunch of other kids. This was all entirely new to him. 
三人离开了弘中（Hongjoong）的卧室，弘中再次领着他们走向前门，一路穿过装饰精美的房间。盛华（Seonghwa）简直难以置信自己就要永久地住在这里了，在接下来的几周，这里会成为他的新家。他从未住过这么大的地方；就算在他之前的公寓里，他租的房间也只有壁橱那么大。在孤儿院，他总是和一大堆孩子挤在一个房间里。这一切对他来说都是全新的。

At the door, before Seonghwa could step over the threshold, Hongjoong caught his wrist in a loose grip to halt him in his tracks. “What kind of food do you like?” he asked, and Seonghwa frowned in confusion. 
走到门口，盛华还没来得及迈过门槛，弘中突然轻轻抓住他的手腕，让他停下了脚步。“你喜欢吃什么？”他问道，盛华困惑地皱起了眉头。

“What?”  “什么？”

One side of Hongjoong’s mouth lifted into a crooked smile, the tip of his fang on that side showing. “Vampires do not have to eat, so there is no human food here, but we do have a refrigerator, and a stove, and other human appliances in the kitchen. So if you tell me what you like, I will get it for you, so that you will have something to eat when you arrive here.” 
洪仲基嘴角勾起一个略带邪气的笑容，露出左边那颗小虎牙。“我们吸血鬼不用吃东西，所以这里没有人类的食物。不过厨房里倒是有冰箱、炉子和其他人类用的玩意儿。你告诉我你喜欢什么，我给你弄来，这样你来的时候就能有东西吃了。”

Seonghwa’s jaw went slack in surprise, and for a moment all he could do was stare at the vampire standing before him, floored by the gesture. “Are you - are you sure?” he asked, and he hated the audible strain in his voice, betraying the emotion that he was too shocked to hide. “I can, um, get it myself-”
星和惊讶得下巴都快掉了，一时之间只能呆呆地望着眼前的吸血鬼，这举动简直让他受宠若惊。“你……你确定吗？”他问道，声音里带着一丝难以掩饰的激动，这让他有点懊恼。“我可以，嗯，自己去弄……”

“No, I want to get it for you,” Hongjoong insisted, his hand still wrapped around Seonghwa’s wrist, gentle but firm, much like his tone. “What do you like?” 
“不，我想为你准备。”洪仲基坚持道，手还温柔而坚定地握着星和的手腕，语气也像他的手一样，带着不容拒绝的意味。“你喜欢什么？”

No one had ever done anything like this for him before. Seonghwa didn’t even know what to say, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly as he blinked a few times, trying to keep his eyes from visibly filling with tears. Hongjoong wanted to buy him… food? His stomach rumbled again, and Hongjoong’s eyes filled with concern, and Seonghwa knew he had heard the sound. 
从来没有人为他做过这样的事。星化张了张嘴，却什么也说不出来，只是眨巴了几下眼睛，努力不让眼泪掉下来。洪中要给他买……吃的？他的肚子又不争气地叫了一声，洪中眼中满是关切，星化知道他肯定听见了。

Biting his lip, Seonghwa said the first thing that came to mind. “I like meat,” he said, his hunger threatening to overcome him at the mere mention of it. “Any kind of meat. And, um, maybe some rice? Or vegetables? Anything is fine, really. And if you can’t get anything after all, it’s okay, don’t worry about it-” 
成华咬着嘴唇，脱口而出：“我喜欢肉，” 仅仅是提到肉，饥饿感就快要将他吞噬，“什么肉都行。嗯，再来点米饭？或者蔬菜？其实什么都好。要是实在弄不到也没关系，真的，别放在心上……”

“Meat,” Hongjoong repeated, nodding. “I will have it for you, along with the other things too, and anything else I see that I think you may like. Does that sound okay?” 
“肉，” 弘中重复着，点点头，“我会给你弄来的，还有其他的，还有任何我看到你可能会喜欢的东西。这样可以吗？”

Seonghwa nodded, trying to keep his emotions in check, for otherwise he feared he would burst into tears right here in the front doorway of Hongjoong’s house. “Yeah,” he breathed, still completely dumbfounded by the gesture. “That… that sounds amazing. Thank you.” 
成华点点头，努力克制着自己的情绪，不然他真怕自己会在弘中家门口哭出来。“嗯，” 他轻声说道，仍然被这份情意弄得晕头转向。“那……那简直太棒了。谢谢你。”

“Anything you need, just let me know and I will get it for you.” Hongjoong squeezed Seonghwa’s hand before letting go, his words nothing but honest. “Okay?”
“有啥需要的，尽管开口，我给你弄来。” 洪仲基捏了捏星化的手，这才松开，语气真诚得不能再真诚。“行吗？”

Pressing his lips together tightly, Seonghwa nodded. “Okay,” he agreed, his voice soft as he finally stepped through the doorway to return to the van that had brought him here. “I’ll, um, see you tomorrow.” 
星化紧紧抿着嘴，点了点头。“行，”他答应着，声音轻柔，终于迈步走过门廊，回到把他带来的那辆面包车旁。“我，嗯，明天见。”

“I will be waiting,” Hongjoong replied, lifting his hand in a small wave. “Return home safe.” 
“我会等着你的，” 洪仲基回答，抬手轻轻挥了挥。“一路平安。”

Seonghwa smiled at him before turning around and heading for the van, clambering inside with his heart racing as he immediately placed his hand over the place where Hongjoong’s fangs had sunk into his neck. The skin was smooth as ever, completely healed over, and as the van pulled away from the house to return to the human part of the city, he couldn’t stop replaying the events of the night over and over again in his mind. 
星化朝他笑了笑，然后转身走向面包车，手忙脚乱地爬了上去，心跳得飞快，立刻伸手捂住脖子上被洪仲基的尖牙刺穿的地方。皮肤光滑如初，完全愈合了，当面包车驶离这栋房子，返回人类居住的城市时，他脑海里不停地重放着今晚发生的一切。

He couldn’t quite believe that any of it had been real, and after the van returned to the blood bank he walked back to his car, feeling as if he were floating above the ground, his heart lighter than it had ever been before. Hongjoong had touched him gently, and spoken to him with kindness. Seonghwa hadn’t even realized how badly he needed that until he experienced it, and now he wanted nothing more than to go back there.
他简直不敢相信这一切是真的，献血车开回血库后，他走回自己的车，感觉像漂浮在半空中，心比以往任何时候都轻盈。洪中温柔地触碰了他，对他说话也很友善。星化甚至没有意识到自己有多需要这些，直到他亲身体验到，现在他只想立刻回到那里。

Just one more day, and then he would be able to go back. One more night spent in his car, one more journey of the sun through the sky before he had access to real food. 
再有一天，他就能回去了。再在车里过一夜，再等太阳走完一个轮回，他就能吃到真正的食物了。

One more day, and then he wouldn’t have to be alone. 
再有一天，他就不用再孤单一人了。